Hidden Secrets
by firefliesinlove
Summary: The Bladebrakers find out more about Kai and his past... Kai is having troubles, will he finally admit it? Rating might go up! Please R&R! Chapter 12 is up! SORRY FOR THE WAIT!
1. Default Chapter

!Bladebreakers Story!  
  
Chapter 1  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The bladebreakers walked in a huddled group, Kai trailing behind them. It was the middle of the winter, and the weather was frightfully cold. They were on their way back to the hotel for the remainder of the evening. All of them were wearing coats except Kai. He thought he wouldn't need one. Boy was he wrong, it was -30 degrees. But he didn't show any signs of being cold, except for the occasional shiver that passed over his body.  
  
The rest of the group (Tyson, Ray, Max and the Chief) all thought he was crazy, but ignored him as they hurried up the path to the Hotel. When they pushed their way through the doors and into the warmth of the hotel lobby, they all sighed and gathered around a fireplace next to the counter, and sat down in front of it. Kai walked in a few minutes later, and ignored their curious looks as he took the elevator to their rooms.  
  
"What's up with him?" Tyson raised an eyebrow as he watched Kai disappear into the elevator.  
  
"I don't know, there's always something up with him." Ray responded, and watched the flames as if in a trance.  
  
"Yeah, and anyways, we need to concentrate on our practicing a lot more. We want to test our limits." Kenny turned from staring at the elevator, and looked at each member of the team.  
  
"I thought we already tested our limits!" Tyson's eyes went wide, and continued. "And besides, I hear that there's another all night buffet in the dining hall!" Tyson closed his eyes, licked his lips, and smiled.  
  
Everyone groaned, and they got up after warming themselves in front of the fire. They didn't say much all the way up in the elevator to their room. They all shared one room, with one two bunk beds and one single bed, and surprisingly it was never crowded.  
  
They all noticed Kai sitting on the single bed in the darkest corner of the room, his back turned to them. He took no notice of them as they chatted to each other and walked around the room making noises. No one noticed that he was staring grim faced down at his beyblade, an odd expression passed over his face every once in awhile.  
  
He sighed as he remembered how he had betrayed his friends and his loyalty to their team. He felt he didn't deserve such friendship, and that he should be alone all the time. He couldn't understand why they put up with him, the way he was and the way he acted. They didn't seem to mind. That's what confused him. He frowned, and closed his hand over his beyblade. He remembered his match against strong opponents and how he had lost. It had crushed him. Memories of when he had betrayed his 'friends' and how he had turned his backs on them for one stupid thing passed before him. For stupid power, that's what he had risked loyalty and friendship for.  
  
Kai gripped his teeth together, and groaned as he remembered it all. He shivered. Whether it was from the cold of the memories, he wasn't sure. He went through his few belongings, and took out a sweater. He had never worn his sweater. It was a black sweater, and he resented it, his grandfather had given it to him, and he had asked him not to buy it for him. He examined it, and put it back in his bag. He deserved to be cold, after all the things he had done. Kai placed his beyblade at the end of the bed, sat down, and stared sadly at it.  
  
The Chief was happily chatting away with Dizzi on his laptop, and discussing their adventures and bey battles with Max, while Ray and Tyson were laughing about something or other. Kai didn't really hear what they were saying, but he knew they were talking. He shivered again and swore he heard someone laughing, but concentrated on the details of his beyblade. His thoughts wandered for quite some time, and by the time he came back to his senses, Tyson and Max had left, Kenny was sitting on a bunk bed gazing down at his laptop and whispering to Dizzi, and Ray was lying down on the top bunk, across from the Chief.  
  
"I don't belong here." Kai muttered to himself, and got up, with his beyblade in his hand. He walked out the door, and into the elevator without anyone noticing.  
  
He walked out the elevator doors, and was surprised to see Tyson wasn't eating, but he was beybattling against Max. When they noticed him, they only turned for a second. Max smiled at him, and Tyson called out to him, surprisingly.  
  
"Hey Kai, what are you up to? We're practising again." They turned back to their beyblades, and they both looked determined.  
  
He ignored them, and turned around to leave, but something made him look back and speak. "I'm going for a walk. Good luck in your practising." It surprised Max, Tyson and himself that he actually said anything. Both of them looked up, while their beyblades hit each other and bounced back in their hands. Kai looked around uncomfortably, turned back around and walked out the doors.  
  
Max looked down at his Beyblade in his hand, and at Tyson who was staring open mouthed at the door where Kai had been.  
  
"Did he actually say what I think he said? Or was I hallucinating?" Tyson looked at Max who simply shrugged.  
  
"I think he did, otherwise we both saw the same hallucination." They went back to practicing, and took a break for a few hours for Tyson to pig-out at the all night buffet.  
  
Kai wandered around outside for a few hours along the sidewalks and through the alleys. He was somewhat disturbed to walk along the same road the abbey was on before, so he took another road. He found himself on a bridge over looking the entire city. It would have been breath taking if Kai wasn't almost out of breath. He could see the hotel where everyone was safe and warm inside. Where he himself should have been. It looked so far away; he never noticed how far he had wandered.  
  
A boy passed by him, apparently stuck in his own thoughts as well, but he looked familiar. It was the boy from the Abbey who had been kicked out from a defeat by Tyson. The boy turned around, and looked directly at him as though he remembered him from a distant thought. He turned back around, and walked on. Kai watched him and remembered him and the haunting memories. He sighed, and watched his breath escape in a puff of clearly visible air. He found himself with his hand around his beyblade once more, and drew it from his pocket with an air of frustration on his face. He would have to find a way to suppress all of the memories like he had done before, as a young child. Before he knew what was happening, he had walked to the end of the bridge.  
  
He took one look back to the bridge, then turned around and walked back to the Hotel, but he took a different route.  
  
"It's already midnight! Where're Tyson, Max and Kai?" Ray sat up, and looked over at Kenny who was staring at Dizzi. He looked up for a moment, then went back to Dizzi.  
  
"I know for certain that Tyson dragged Max down to the All-night buffet. Hopefully he'll get tired of eating before it's morning. I have no idea where Kai is at all. He always disappears, it's just his style." The chief put down his open laptop on the pillow next to him.  
  
"That's just like him, isn't it. Kai, I mean. And Tyson? He'll never get tired of eating." Ray got up and left Kenny, who grabbed his laptop, and hurried out after him.  
  
"Wait up! Where're you going?" He caught up to Ray, and looked down at him and smiled.  
  
"To check up on the all night buffet. I was thinking of maybe practising with Max - I'm sure Tyson wouldn't notice." He smiled again, and they took the elevator down to the first floor. They crossed the lobby and found Tyson stuffing his face in the Restaurant.  
  
"Where's Kai?" Ray immediately asked as Max and Tyson greeted them.  
  
"He said he was going for a walk or something like that. And he was nice about it too!" exclaimed Max.  
  
"Yah, that's definitely un-Kai like. He's always been cold hearted and a loner." Ray sat down next to Max, and Kenny sat beside Tyson, and they both watched him stuff his face.  
  
"Well, the loner part is still true. But ever since he -" Kenny stopped in mid sentence, then continued. "Ever since he betrayed us and his loyalty to our group, he's been acting differently, and it's not normal behaviour either. Dizzi and I were talking about it earlier. I think he needs us now, and not us just as team mates either, but as friends, too. I think he feels bad about letting down his Dranzer, too. The way he threw it away to Tyson, and how he betrayed his bit-piece as well." He stopped again, and looked over at everyone, who wouldn't looked directly at him.  
  
"You tell 'em, boss." Dizzi said quietly in his ear.  
  
"But he betrayed us for power! I don't know if I can forgive him that easily." Ray looked down at his hands as he spoke.  
  
"I'd like to give him a second chance. I think he deserves one, even if he did betray us as friends and as a team. And it wasn't just us that he betrayed, he also betrayed the other teams like the All Stars and the White Tigers." Max was always one to look on the bright side.  
  
"Yah, I think we should give him a second chance, that's what friends are for." Said Tyson, grim-faced. He shoved one more piece of chicken in his mouth before they all got up. "I wonder when he's getting back from his walk?"  
  
None of them answered, and they all went to their room to sleep. But none of them did, there was so much on their mind. Even Kenny (who was exhausted from waking up earlier than anyone for the past week or so) lay there awake, and consulted Dizzi on many different things. Eventually they fell asleep, huge white snowflakes falling by their window. It was a beautiful night.  
  
Kai didn't get back until 3 a.m., and he was covered in head to toe from the snow, which had fallen down like a snowstorm. He simply thought he deserved it for how he had acted, so he was soaked from head to toe when he went into his bed in the corner. They should have let me drown, were his final thoughts.  
  
****************************************************************** MagicFae: Hey, guys! How's my story so far? Max: It's pretty ok so far. Tyson: I think it's awesome! I got all of that kool food! At a buffet! *smiles* MagicFae: ... Okay ... Ray: Well, I think it was good fro the first chapter. How long are the next chapters? MagicFae: Longer than this one, I hope! Chief: I thought it was good, so did Dizzi! MagicFae: Thanks guys! Anyways so who wants to say it this time? Tyson: Tyson: All right... *sigh* MagicFae doesn't own the Beybladers or anything to do with them. She only owns extra characters. Steth: Like me! I'm her creation, so don't steal me! Or I'll get really mad! MagicFae: Anyway... ^-^ Enjoy the rest of this fanfic! Kai: ...Hn.... 


	2. Chapter 2 The Sickness

MagicFae: Thanks fro reading my fanfic! I hope you like it so far, and I've written about 8 chapters! Hopefully in a few days I'll have about 12 chapters!  
  
Max: That's so cool!  
  
Kai: Hn.  
  
Steth: Oh yeah, Magic, you want me to tell them?  
  
MagicFae: Go ahead! ^-^  
  
Steth: All right, MagicFae doesn't own anything to do with Bladebreakers. But she does own me, and everything about me. So don't try and steal me! ^.^  
  
MagicFae: Yup, so anyway, enjoy this fanfic!  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Chapter - 2  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Max, Ray and Kenny all woke up earlier than they expected. It was 8 o'clock in the morning by the time they went down to the restaurant and ate their breakfast. They left Tyson because no one could ever wake him up, and they left Kai just because.  
  
"Well I guess he came back during the night." Said Ray a little more happily than he expected.  
  
"But I was up almost all night, and I never heard him come in!" Exclaimed Kenny.  
  
"So was I, and I never heard him either." Max said as he ate his delicious eggs.  
  
"Me, too. But Kai's always quiet. Maybe he came in while we thought we were awake." Suggested Ray.  
  
"Oh well, at least he's still here. I'm sort of glad and relieved that he's staying with us still." The Chief pushed aside his empty plate, and opened his Laptop. "What do you think, Dizzi?"  
  
"I think you're right, Chief, even if he is cold, mean and a loner most of the time. What am I kidding, he's a loner all of the time." Dizzi let out a short laugh. Kenny sighed.  
  
"Hey guys!" Tyson stretched, and sat down at their table, to their surprise.  
  
"Hey, you're up early!" Ray raised his eyebrows, and finished his breakfast.  
  
"I know, I just couldn't sleep all night, and I woke up after I had this crazy dream. Oh well, now I can eat! Mmmmm, I can't wait to try out their sausages." Tyson licked his lips, ran over to get food and was back in an instant with a plate overflowing with food.  
  
"What were you guys talking about before I came down?" Tyson stabbed at his food, and filled his mouth full.  
  
"We were just talking about Kai again. It was weird how he came back late, usually he stays around here and goes to sleep when we do. And he wakes up earlier than we do, normally." Max sighed, and pushed his plate away from himself.  
  
"Yeah, it was weird, but I'm glad he's back now. Hey have you guys tried these eggs?? They're soooo good!" Tyson went back to eating with a smile on his face.  
  
"Well, I'm done. I'm going down to one of the parks soon to practice beyblading again, anyone want to join me?" Ray stood up, and looked around at his friends and team mates.  
  
"Sure, I'll join you." Max stood up, too, and they both went back upstairs for their beyblades. The Chief stayed with Tyson while he went for seconds and thirds until he finally finished eating.  
  
When Max and Ray went back to their room, Kai was still in bed.  
  
"He's still asleep? That's not normal." Max went over to his bag, and looked for his Beyblade, while Ray sat down on his bed and picked up his beyblade. He watched Kai curiously. Kai was pale, and tossing and turning under his sheets. But then again, he was always pale. I hope he's all right... thought Ray to himself, just as Kai jumped up in bed, panting.  
  
Kai looked over at him, and for a second, Ray thought he looked vulnerable. But then as quickly as his face had changed, it was back to normal, and he leaned back in his bed.  
  
"What's wrong Kai, did you have a nightmare?" Max was leaning against the pole of his bunk bed with his beyblade in his hands. Kai didn't answer, and he stared off into space.  
  
"Kai?" Ray slid off his bed, and stared down at Kai.  
  
"It was nothing." Kai sat up straighter, but fell back again, hunched over. "Just a... Nightmare. Nothing bad." He lied, he had dreamt that his 'friends' had let him drown after all, and as he slowly fell to the bottom of the river, he could hear them laughing and taunting him, then they had destroyed Dranzer and Black Dranzer.  
  
"You don't look so good, are you feeling all right?" Max sat down on the end of Kai's bed, and Ray stood over him, both looked worried.  
  
"I'm-" Kai paused, and thought it over, if he said he wasn't feeling all right, it would ruin everyone's day. In the other hand, if he said he was fine, they would be happy for the rest of the day. "I'm fine. Just fine." He knew lying was bad, but he did it far too often, and had gotten used to it.  
  
"Well, all right. But if you feel sick or anything, just tell us. We won't mind." Max smiled, and he and Ray both left Kai alone in the room.  
  
"I told one person before, but my grandfather did mind, and made me work harder and longer. How do I know that you will stay true to your words?" He told the door, then got dressed, made his bed, and went downstairs. He sat down in the Lobby area, he didn't feel much like eating. The next hour or so he spent sitting on an armchair in a daze until he fell into an uneasy sleep.  
  
"Tyson, Hey - Tyson! Come here!" He heard a voice echo frantically through his mind. "He doesn't look too good, does he." It was a small, high voice.  
  
"No, he doesn't." Another voice came into his mind, but he pushed them both aside. He was so tired, and he hurt all over. But there was a numbing sensation in the pit of his stomach. "Kai!" He felt two strong hands shake him from his shoulders.  
  
Kai forced open his eye lids, they were pretty heavy. Two blurred figures were in front of him. He could barely recognize them. It was Tyson and the Chief.  
  
"You okay, buddy? You don't look so well." Tyson let go of his shoulders, and kneeled in front of him. He passed his hand in front of Kai's eyes. "Kai?" Kai blinked a few times until everything looked a little sharper and clearer.  
  
"I'm fine." A voice unlike his own and very dry escaped his lips. He leaned his head back, and tried to make himself sit straighter. "I was just- "  
  
"Tired?" Tyson finished for him. "You do look tired, but I know one thing for certain. Kai doesn't fall asleep during the day and disappear during the night. So what's the matter?"  
  
"I said I'm fine." Kai said angrily. "I was up late, and I needed to rest a little more. But I swear I'm fine!"  
  
"But you aren't." Kenny looked down at his laptop, and smiled.  
  
"Dizzi took your readings, and-" Kenny started, but Dizzi interrupted him.  
  
"And you're not fine. You have a fever, and highly elevated temperatures. Face it Kai, you finally need help. You're sick." Dizzi stated matter of factly, and Kenny nodded.  
  
"Come on, Kai." Tyson slipped an arm around Kai, and dragged him up to their room, and onto his bed.  
  
They called the ambulance, and watched as it slowly disappeared from the view from their hotel window. They were just about to leave for the hospital when Max and Ray rushed in talking excitedly. They stopped at the looks on Tyson and Kenny's.  
  
"Hey, what's the matter guys?" Max was the first to speak.  
  
"It's Kai, he's sick! He's in the hospital!" Exclaimed Kenny.  
  
"Whoa..." Ray was shocked beyond belief. Kai wasn't one to get sick. He never got sick, he never even showed anyone the other side of himself, the Kia in pain.  
  
"We'd better go and see him!" Max recovered from the shock, and continued. "He must be really sick for him to be in the hospital!"  
  
"He was! It took both the Chief and I twenty minutes to drag him up here. He was really sick, I've never seen him like that before. We were about to go and see him at the hospital-" Max interrupted Tyson with a smart comment.  
  
"What, without us? How could you think of going to see our captain in times of need without us?" Max smiled weakly, and they all went out of the hotel together.  
  
"Sooo, where's the hospital? Does anyone know?" Tyson spoke loudly over his growling stomach.  
  
"It's about four blocks from here, not too far away." The Chief spoke softly. No one answered. They were all caught in their own thoughts. When they got to the hospital, they were all shocked at how huge it was. It was at least nine stories tall! They went inside, and Tyson was the one who approached the people behind the counter.  
  
"Yes? How may I be of assistance?" The woman smiled happily... How could anyone be so happy in a hospital? 


	3. Chapter 3 Newcomer

Chapter 3  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"We're looking for Kai Hiwatari." He tried his best to sound cheerful, but failed. "Ah yes. Mr. Hiwatari is on the second floor in room 75. Good day." She smiled warmly up at the team, then went back to her paperwork.  
  
They all took the stairs to the second floor, and with a little bit of luck, they found Kai's room. A doctor was outside the door writing quickly on a clipboard. He looked up at them when they got closer to Kai's room.  
  
"We're here to see Kai. Is he all right?" Tyson spoke up once he found his voice.  
  
"Are you his family?" He looked questioningly at the four of them.  
  
"No, but we're the closest thing he has right now." Ray looked down at the ground, hoping the doctor would believe them and let them in.  
  
"All right. His condition is unknown for the moment. It is quite a curious case. He has a fever for the time being, but the tests we took may explain everything else." The doctor smiled down at the saddened looks on their faces. "You can go inside to see him if you wish, but I'm not sure if he's awake yet." He smiled again and left them.  
  
Max pushed open the door, and followed the others inside the room. They glanced at each other, and stood around Kai on the hospital bed. He was more pale than ever, and he was shaking slightly with every breath he took. If possible, he looked worse than when Tyson and Kenny saw him before. His eyelids flickered for a few moments, and they finally snapped open. His eyes looked glossy, and when he saw them, he tried to straighten up in the bed.  
  
"What are you doing here??" He looked at each and every one of them in turn, then frowned down at the ground. How could I be weak in front of my team members! This isn't right, I should be tough, not weak, I should be able to be stronger than this! What's wrong with me?!? I hope they don't know about... Kai thought to himself, then snapped out of it. Of course they wouldn't know. No one knows.  
  
"We're here to see you, Kai. Like it or not we actually are here to help you get better, pal!" Tyson smiled encouragingly, and the others nodded grimly. As a wave of pain passed over him, Kai clenched his teeth and closed his eyes. When it passed, he opened his eyes again, and could see his 'friends' looking at him, speechless. Get over it Kai, you should be able to handle pain, you were trained to handle pain. Then another voice entered his mind, and spoke. They're your friends Kai, whether or not you see that yet or want to believe it. No one is oblivious, especially you. Especially after... The voice stopped right there, and Kai leaned back on the pillows. Maybe you should tell them, they are your team mates. The first voice agreed with the second voice.  
  
"Thank you." Kai surprised himself again, and surprised the others. "I-" He tried to stop himself, but the voices egged him on. "I really appreciate it." That's when he went back to his normal self. "But you shouldn't have come. You should be concentrating on your beyblading instead. This is a waste of time." He tried to get out of bed, but his friends cornered him, and pushed him back down.  
  
"Yeah, whatever Kai." Ray withdrew his hand from Kai's shoulder, and looked away. Then everyone noticed a look pass over Kai's face. It was odd, not like anything they had ever seen. Kai actually showed his pain for a brief moment.  
  
"You should vote on another captain, seeing as how I am incapacitated now." Kai closed his eyes, and ignored their protests. "And don't pick someone who will think of themselves as a temporary captain. Vote on someone who will do the job... forever."  
  
"But why, Kai? You're coming back with us when you get all better!" Tyson reassured him, after all, Kai was a survivor... right?  
  
Kai didn't answer, his face was set in a grim way. He looked up at Tyson, then looked away. He was fighting with himself in his mind, about whether or not he would tell anyone about everything. Kai reached in he pocket of his pants, and drew out Dranzer, his Beyblade. He handed it to Tyson, who looked from Kai to Kai's beyblade.  
  
"Take care of Dranzer for me." Kai closed his eyes, and sighed.  
  
Tyson didn't argue, instead, he stared down at Dranzer with an odd expression on his face. The last time Kai had given it to him, he was a changed person. And not for the better.  
  
"I will," Tyson was looking at Kai with a shocked expression, as he relived the moment when they had lost Kai as a team member and as a friend to the evil BioVault Corporation. But surely he wouldn't leave them again?  
  
"You should leave now." Kai looked so vulnerable, and that's exactly what he felt on the inside. But inside of himself he felt worse. How could he be vulnerable in front of them? Kai was never one to be helpless. But now... He was helpless. He felt worse because of that. He had only ever shown his teammates his cold, withdrawn and loner side. Never the helpless side to him. I'd be better off if I was dead... thought Kai. Are you sure? If you died, who would be the leader, the captain of the team? Who would hold the power of Dranzer in their fingertips and have a special bond with the bitbeast at the same time? Surely you understand that your role here is more important than you think? Kai was confused, it was a new voice that had entered his mind, he searched his memories for the voice, but found nothing. Dranzer? He thought unsurely to himself. Now you're catching on. Don't worry, they will take care of me, but everyone depends on you returning to your full health. That much you owe to them. That and their friendship. Kai drifted off into an uneasy sleep as his friends left him in peace. Hmmph, so much for peace. He had nightmares of his past as he slept.  
  
"I sure hope he's going to be all right!" Kenny held his laptop securely to his chest, and looked down at the ground as they returned to the hotel.  
  
"He'll be fine, he always is." Max filled himself with a sense of false hope, sadly it didn't work.  
  
"Boy, I've never seen him like that before. Never." Ray looked directly in front of him as he spoke, he clenched his teeth.  
  
Tyson simply stared down at Dranzer then remembered Kai lying in the hospital bed. He stuffed the beyblade in his jean pocket then slid his hands in his jacket pockets. He was as confused as everyone else. "Must've been the walk he took the other night. It was really cold and snowing, too." Tyson muttered to himself, but loud enough so that everyone heard and nodded.  
  
For the rest of the day, they kept themselves busy in every way. Mentally and physically.  
  
"I'm going out for a while." Tyson announced right after they ate supper. He needed time to think.  
  
"Going where, Tyson?" Max looked up from his plate. "You didn't eat much."  
  
"I'm not very hungry." Tyson stood up, and stretched.  
  
"That's not normal. What's wrong?" Max watched Tyson out of the corner of his eye.  
  
"I just need some air, that's all. Some time to think. I'll be back in a while." With a final farewell, he walked out of the warm hotel and into the cool breeze from outside. He sighed and took a deep breath. Tyson walked along the sidewalk and watched the sun as it started to set. It was beautiful. He found himself on the concrete stairs leading down to the river. He sat down on the very last steps, took out Kai's beyblade, and watched the waves in a trance.  
  
"Shouldn't you be wearing a jacket?" A distant voice reached down to Tyson, and broke through his trance. Surprised, Tyson looked up behind him, and saw a boy about Kai's age standing on the very top steps. He had is eyes fixed on Tyson, and his arms were folded. His hair was spiked, and an odd colour... It was green! He was very pale, just like Kai, too. The boy walked down to where Tyson was sitting, and stood in front of him. His eyes were an odd shade of crimson or purple. Tyson couldn't tell which. He was wearing dark green pants (like Kai's) and a white jacket over a green shirt. His white jacket had a stripe of green across the chest part. He didn't look as cold as Kai, in fact, he looked a little friendlier. The boy smirked down at him.  
  
"Who're you?" Tyson stared open mouthed at him.  
  
"You know Kai?" He stared at Tyson with a piercing gaze. Tyson just nodded. "My name is Steth. I used to know Kai. In fact, we were... what you would call 'friends.' I learned about his condition. And I believe he owes you and your friends explanations for everything."  
  
Tyson's eyes opened wide with shock. Kai had friends as a kid? Whoa, boy was Tyson shocked.  
  
"If you take me to your friends, I will explain everything." He turned around and walked halfway up the stairs and added, "Take care of his Dranzer, he will be needing it again." Tyson took him back to the hotel, and he introduced himself to the team.  
  
Back in the hospital, Kai was having terrible nightmares. He was tossing and turning and having a horrible time.  
  
The young Kai of seven years old was standing around the corner of his parents' room. He was watching them argue for the millionth time. He knew his friend Steth was right behind him, watching him. Steth did that a lot, and he always claimed that he would 'watch his back' forever. Kai ignored his comments and practiced beyblading with him. Steth had a powerful beyblade called "Tavarius." Kai continued to watch his parents, then tensed up as he saw his grandfather and another man enter the room from the other doorway. Kai ignored his gut feelings and just listened.  
  
"Father, this is no time for you and your guests to come in. My wife and I are busy-" Voltaire cut of his son in mid sentence.  
  
"Oh contraire, I think this is the perfect time." Voltaire hissed in a deep voice, and gestured to his 'guest.' "This is Borris. He is going to be working for me. And I suggest that you get comfortable around him. If not, we can always fix your problem." He smirked, and let Borris introduce himself.  
  
"I will be the leader of the research program in the nearby Abbey. Your son will be the perfect test subject- Ahem - I mean student. He will be trained for perfection in the area of Beyblades and battling with them." He cleared his voice as he spoke in a cruel, harsh, cold voice. His mouth curled into what he may have thought was a smile. It looked more like he was in pain.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
MagicFae:I hope you like the story so far. Bye for now! : )  
  
Update: I tried to fix the paragraphs! ^-^ I sure hope it worked; something happened when I copied and pasted the story into Microsoft word, so it started to put everything in one giant paragraph. Anyway, enjoy the story! ^.^  
  
********************************************************************* 


	4. Chapter 4 Recalling The Memories

Chapter 4  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Well we aren't interested. We were in the middle of something important, could you both please leave? And don't bother Kai about any of this. He's only a child. Let him be a child for god's sake! And you aren't any help with your 'toughening up' of Kai. He's just a child. Children should be able to have fun once in a while." Kai's father turned from Borris to Voltaire, then glared at them both. "Leave us, now."  
  
"I don't think so. And Kai will be participating in our program. We have Mr. Voltaire's permission. He is the brain behind this project. Kai must be in top physical shape and must be emotionless with perfection for the perfect time. It has all been planned. And if you disagree, then we can always get rid of you." Borris spoke harshly, and smirked again. He took off his hood and revealed his purple hair. He must have been thirty or forty at the time. His face held hardly any wrinkles. Kai shivered as he looked deep into the man's eyes.  
  
"Yes, you'll have to get rid of us first. Kai isn't ready for anything yet! I thought we had discussed this. He isn't ready, you said another few years!" Kai's mother pleaded with Borris and Voltaire. Her dark brown eyes were glossy with tears. She closed here eyes, and tried to calm herself down. She pushed her dark blue hair behind her ears, and opened her eyes again. "He isn't ready. Just give him a few more months."  
  
"You were in on this? I thought you swore-" His father looked shocked at his wife, and shook his head. "I should have known. Voltaire doesn't take no for an answer. But you had promised me that you would never have anything to do with him."  
  
"You offered her love, we offered her money. As simple as that, idiot. Her trust went to the highest bidder. But I'm afraid we don't need either of you in the picture anymore. We'll just have to get rid of you. And no, I never take no for an answer. It's always 'Yes, Sir', or 'Of course, Master.' All of the servants understand." Voltaire smiled, and crossed his arms, a familiar site for Kai. Borris and Voltaire both took guns out of their pockets, and smiled evilly.  
  
"You son of a bitch! You promised!" Kai's mother's eyes widened with shock, and stared at the guns. Kai could sense she was terrified. Her father on the other hand was determined that they were simply playing around, and his dark red eyes gazed steadily at Voltaire.  
  
"We can't let you live. You know too much. And as for your 'little' Kai, he will be our 'little' experiment. He will be the most powerful beyblader in the world. And there's nothing you can do to stop us." Borris was overconfident, and fell backwards when Kai's mother grabbed a picture of a smiling Voltaire and threw it square onto his chest.  
  
Kai's father threw himself in front of his wife as Voltaire shot her. The bullet penetrated his father's skin, and went straight through his heart. He fell to the ground, and died in his wife's arms. There were screams of confusion from his mother, and Kai clenched his teeth together. His crimson eyes filled up with tears as he was frozen in place, and simply watched it all unfold.  
  
"Bitch!" Borris spat as he shot Kai's mother in the middle of her head. Kai could faintly hear his mother's last words "I love you, Kai. Don't be afraid..." Her limp body fell to the floor. She died before she hit the ground.  
  
"Finally," Voltaire left the scene accompanied by Borris, and they both laughed menacingly. "Now we can concentrate on our real work."  
  
Kai felt a hand on his shoulder, and when he looked back, he saw Steth's face dimly lit, he was shocked, too. Kai ran over to the bodies of his parents, and leaned over his mother's face. "Nooo.... Please, don't be dead..." Kai felt hot tears splash down his face. He let out an angry yell, and cried for the longest time beside their bodies. Steth kept careful watch on him, and as soon as he heard the sirens of the police, he helped Kai back to his room. Steth decided to sleep over at Kai's, seeing as how he had just gone through hell. He might need someone after all.  
  
"They - they can't be... Can they?" Kai's voice quivered slightly as he looked up at Steth. "I - I need them..." More tears flowed down his face, and he closed his eyes.  
  
"They are..." Was the only thing Steth could say. "But you need to stay the same, Kai. Don't change because of this." Steth sat down on the ground, and stared hopelessly at his beyblade.  
  
After what seemed like hours, Voltaire went into Kai's room. But Steth had hidden himself in Kai's closet.  
  
"Get over it, Kai. Be strong. No one should ever cry, it shows signs of weakness. You're not weak, are you?" Voltaire glared down at Kai.  
  
Kai wiped his tears away, and looked straight into his grandfather's eyes. "What if I am?" He made sure that his face never changed. He kept himself in the same, cold mood for the rest of his life.  
  
Voltaire slapped Kai until he was past the feeling of pain, then asked him again. "No, sir." Was all he said. Kai didn't cry himself to sleep in case his grandfather was watching. He favoured his left arm and watched as the bruises became visible. he felt his cheek, and winced in pain. I can't be weak. I just can't be... weak...  
  
Steth looked at each and every member of the bladebreakers as he finished telling them his first tale. "I'm surprised that he never told you. But then again, I'm not surprised. It's not his fault."  
  
Everyone was so shocked they couldn't speak. Kai had watched his parents be murdered. And had been beaten by his only living family.  
  
"I hardly ever saw Kai after that. But he can always tell when I'm watching his back. And I gave up trying a long time ago." Steth leaned against the wall in a familiar Kai pose.  
  
"Well, it's not like Kai needs someone to watch his back." Ray broke the silence.  
  
"You'd be surprised. His beyblade couldn't protect him, so I took up the job. He was always into trouble without meaning to be... It wasn't his fault." He closed his eyes.  
  
"Wow." Was all that Tyson could say.  
  
"And the beatings didn't stop there. Borris and Voltaire beat him continuously, while all I could do was watch. There's not much a seven year old boy can do. They forced Kai into being an adult at such a young age. It was more like a robot. But when Kai could only obey them and do nothing else, they stopped beating him. They were mad when Kai destroyed half of the Abbey with Black Dranzer. But he told me it was horrifying, and that all of the power had nearly turned him against me. I guess he forgot everything from before that because of being so traumatised. He even forgot me." Steth opened his eyes once more, and gazed around. He, too, was forced to act like an adult at a young age. It was that, or die. He chose to live. Only he had known what the pressure was like, aside from Kai. "That was a hard time to live through." He gazed around the hotel room.  
  
"We all knew that Kai had a hidden past. He just never told anyone." Max said trying to break the long silence once more.  
  
"And yet some of you still are able to make fun of him??" Steth was all of a sudden angry, and it scared everyone. His eyes had clouded over. He got a hold of himself, and shook the feeling off. "I'm sorry."  
  
"No, I'm sure we all deserved that. But if Kai had just told us in the first place, we wouldn't have bothered." Tyson looked up at Steth, and met his gaze, then quickly looked away.  
  
"He could never tell anyone. He never knew how." Steth's gaze suddenly seemed friendlier and softer. "I should leave now. If he wants you to know more, he'll tell you when he's ready." Steth turned and started off, when the Bladebreakers all jumped up.  
  
"Will he be all right?" The Chief called out.  
  
"He'll pull through." Steth waved back at them, and disappeared out the doors of the hotel. As he left, Steth sighed, and went straight to the hospital, and to Kai's room. He watched Kai sleep for a short while, when Kai suddenly sat up, panting. When Kai saw Steth, he looked at him suspiciously.  
  
"Who are you?" Kai asked, dreading the answer. He recalled his dream, and leaned back on his pillows with a grim look on his face.  
  
"Don't you remember?" Steth's face was emotionless. Almost as much as Kai's.  
  
Kai closed his eyes, and frowned. It sounded familiar. Then it hit him. The boy in his dream. "Steth?"  
  
The boy nodded, and walked over to the hospital bed. "It's been a while. How have you been?" Steth finally smiled a little, and gazed down at his friend from the past.  
  
"Yes, a long time. I'm Fine." Kai lied, and looked away.  
  
"How many times have you kept your secrets from everyone only to have them found out by me? I can tell when you're lying." He mused, and stopped smiling. "Why didn't you ever tell anyone? They needed to know." Kai's eyes opened wide in shock.  
  
"You didn't tell anyone, did you? About anything?" Kai's heart was slowing down a little.  
  
"I had to. Kai - they need you. The real you. Not this outer shell everyone sees." His face was determined, and Kai's was shocked.  
  
"What exactly did you tell them?" He growled slightly as he spoke.  
  
'I told them about your parents." He left out the beatings part on purpose, because he knew he shouldn't have said anything. "About how they died."  
  
"Hn..." Was all that Kai could say. He relaxed a little, that wasn't so bad. They didn't know everything else.  
  
"You'll be fine, Kai. This sickness isn't as bad as the one you had at the Abbey. You're going to pull through." Kai ignored Steth's statement. "And Dranzer still needs you, as much as you need him."  
  
"Hn..." Kai looked away again, and closed his eyes.  
  
"Kai..." Steth began, but thought twice, and decided not to ask. Kai had gotten so sick at the abbey when he was really young. He had almost died, and he had been so weak after that he had not been able to control Dranzer for a few months. "I propose that you get better right now." He closed his eyes, and light breeze entered the room. A light escaped Steth right through his heart, and into Kai's. The whole room froze, even Kai couldn't move. The pain in his body slowly subsided, and he felt a cool sensation rush over his entire body. It was a relaxing feeling. When it was all over, Steth was leaning against the wall with his teeth clenched together, killing the virus that was now in his body.  
  
"How..." Then Kai remembered how Steth had always helped him through everything and had cured him from everything. "But why?"  
  
"Because I can handle it, and I will be fine in a few minutes. You won't. At the Abbey, If i hadn't taken half of your sickness and purged it, you would have died. Now hurry up. We should leave immediately." The look of pain subsided from Steth's face, and he stood up. Kai got back his clothes from a cabinet he easily unlocked. He threw aside his hospital clothing, and left the room.  
  
"Hey, wait! Where do you think you're going?" A doctor nearby rushed over to them both.  
  
"I feel better now. Thank you for keeping me here and don't think twice about me coming back." He turned to leave, then added "Ever." Steth and Kai ran out of the hospital before the doctor knew what had happened. "Back to the hotel?"  
  
Steth nodded, and they made their way back to the hotel and to the bladebreakers. They arrived, and shortly after were up at the door to the hotel room. "After you?"  
  
"Fine..." He pushed open the door, and nearly scared Tyson right out of his mind because he had his hand on the knob.  
  
"What're you doing here?" Tyson managed to choke out after he had been scared.  
  
"I'm back, that's all you need to know." Kai walked past the shocked and surprised looks on everyone else's faces and back to his own bed. He didn't sit down, but Steth did.  
  
"Well, you're all better then?" Max tried to smile after being so shocked.  
  
"I'm fine." Kai finally sat down on his bed.  
  
"So - so you'll be wanting this back, I suppose?" Tyson went over and handed Dranzer back to him.  
  
"Hn..." Kai took the familiar beyblade from Tyson's hand, and tried to say thank you but he couldn't. He had been far too nice to everyone today.  
  
"There will be a tournament in a few weeks. Your 'Mr. Dickinson' told me to pass along the word. But it's not here, it's in another small village. So you'll have to get ready and be ready to leave tomorrow morning. Kai should know the way there." Steth spoke up, and attempted to smile again. It was hard to smile after so many years of horrifying things.  
  
"Huh? Already?" Ray said as if in a daze. He was still staring at Kai.  
  
"Yes. You should all sleep earlier tonight. Even you - Kai." He looked over at Kai, who simply shrugged.  
  
**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~**~**~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~** MagicFae: So? How was it? Did anyone actually like it?  
  
Max: It was pretty cool!  
  
MagicFae: *Smiles* : ) Thanks!  
  
Tyson: Wow! I love the parts where I get to eat at the buffets. *stuffs his face with chicken and pizza*  
  
Kai: ... Hn...  
  
Ray: Aw, come on Kai, don't be such an outsider.  
  
Kai: Hn...  
  
MagicFae: Fine give us the silent treatment! Maybe I should change the main character to someone else?  
  
Kai: Well at least that way people won't talk about me as much. And you will stop torturing me. I hate that, but I'm used to it.  
  
MagicFae: Fine, whatever. I thought you people liked me :'( *Cries*  
  
Steth: Awww, Kai look what you did, you made her cry! *Hugs Sarah* And by the way, I love the way you gave me powers to Heal. :)  
  
Everyone but MagicFae and Kai: We still like you!  
  
MagicFae: Yay, I'm loved. But seriously Kai, you should open up more. I know it's hard, believe me, I know. I went through tough times too! But come one, Kai! We love you!  
  
Kai: Hn...  
  
Kenny: That's our Kai, always quiet.  
  
Kai: You people like me even after the ways I treated you in the whole series?  
  
Everyone but MagicFae and Kai: Of course!  
  
MagicFae: Why do you think this whole story is revolved around you? Because people don't like You?  
  
Kai: Sure  
  
MagicFae: Hn...  
  
Tyson: No, not you too! Enough with the 'Hn..'s  
  
*Everyone laughs, but Kai*  
  
MagicFae:Okay, Steth, tell everyone what you were dying to say!  
  
Steth: MagicFae doesn't own Beyblade or anything realted to it. But she DOES own me, so hands off! *wink wink*  
  
MagicFae: Yay! Thanks Steth! Back to our story?  
  
Kai: Not yet!  
  
MagicFae: Why not?  
  
Kai: I'm enjoying not being tortured by people and by memories, so come on.  
  
Steth: He has a point, maybe you should lay off torturing him for a while?  
  
Everyone but Steth, Kai and MagicFae: Yah! Concentrate on us more!  
  
Tyson: And maybe give me more chances for food eating time :)  
  
MagicFae: Alright! I'll continue writing about you guys after I go watch some awesome shows.  
  
Steth: Like what?  
  
MagicFae: Yu-Gi-Oh, Beyblade, Taken, and a few more kool shows?  
  
Ray: So you're going to watch us? That's kool :D But don't forget we'll be waiting for more story soon!  
  
MagicFae: Alright! Bye, bye friends! I'll write more soon! You guys are the best.... :) Wait a minute, I'm the only girl here! Maybe I'll invite a few more friends next time! :)  
  
Everyone but Kai: Bye! :)  
  
Kai: Hn... I mean - Bye, MagicFae! ^-^ : ) : ) : ) ********~**~~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~***~*~*~*~*~* MagicFae: I'm Back! Those shows last night were so good! But I'm shocked, Kai you actually talked alot more *shocked*  
  
Kai: Hn... And?  
  
Steth: Well I guess in the series he is more into talking than in this story!  
  
Everyone but Kai: Yup!  
  
MagicFae: Back to the Story!! ^-^ 


	5. Chapter 5 Travelling Afar

Chapter 5  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The next morning, they all had their bags packed, and had left at around 8:00AM. They were to walk to the next village because their bus had broken down again. Steth told them that he would see them again shortly, and with that he left.  
  
"Stupid bus..." Mumbled Tyson to himself. As he spoke, his voice was deafened by a horrific sound beside them. Everyone looked up and froze in their tracks. A huge amount of rock was falling off on of the mountains, and was heading towards them! No one could move.  
  
"Run!" Kai yelled to his team mates, and pushed them aside to get them started. After that, they ran for their lives. Tyson was at the back, with Kai. "You shouldn't eat so much! You're out of shape, Tyson." Kai managed to yell over the sounds of the falling rocks. The rocks were getting frightfully closer and closer.  
  
"Why aren't you running faster then???" Tyson screamed back, while he huffed and puffed and panted as he ran.  
  
"Because as your captain I am supposed to make sure that your lives aren't in any danger!" He said with some difficulty.  
  
Ray was at the front of the group along side max, and The Chief was trying to keep his footing as the ground shook beneath them, with Dizzi tucked safely inside his jacket.  
  
"Hurry up, run faster you guys!" Max glanced back for a few seconds, then concentrated on running. Everyone was pumped with adrenaline and was running faster then they could ever imagine, even Tyson!  
  
The rocks crashed behind them, and when Ray looked back, Kai, Tyson, and the Chief weren't there. The rocks came to a complete halt, they were a variety of sizes. At the vision of the laptop lying open the cold hard ground, Max's mouth hung open.  
  
"Tyson! Chief, where are you?" Ray ran to the pile of rocks, and started to pick them up and throw them aside. Max got to his knees, and helped by removing rocks as fast as he could.  
  
"Dizzi?" A voice from somewhere in the rubble spoke weakly. Max pushed aside a few big rocks with Ray's help, and they found Kenny. He wasn't hurt, surprisingly, only shocked. "Dizzi!" He ran to his laptop as he got back his breath from running.  
  
"Where's Tyson? Tyson!!! Tyson!!" Max yelled, and feared the worst. And got to his knees, his head down.  
  
"Guys? Over here, guys!" A muffled sound came from behind the rocks, and they rushed behind it to find Tyson pulling rocks from on top of the limp form of Kai.  
  
"Well, you could help me!" Max and Ray both nodded and helped him take the rocks off from on top of Kai. When they finished, they pushed him into a sitting position.  
  
"Hey, Kai, buddy? Are you alright?" Tyson looked down at him with an odd expression on his face.  
  
"Yeah, you ok?" Ray and Max both said in unison, and were relieved when Kai's eyes fluttered open.  
  
"First of all..." Kai began and propped himself in front of a rock. "I'm not your buddy, and secondly, I'm fine." They helped him get up, and went back to Kenny who was smiling happily because his laptop wasn't damaged.  
  
"We should keep going, and faster. That could happen again!" Kenny looked at each of them with a worried expression on his face.  
  
"Yeah, let's go. We sure were lucky that we didn't die because of that." Tyson looked back at the mess, and hurried up to the rest of the team. By the afternoon, everyone was irritable. Tyson was complaining of hunger, Max said his legs were too tired to go any further, Kenny was worried that his laptop would melt because of the immense heat and sunlight boring down onto them, and Ray was really thirsty. And Kai was annoyed by their complaints.  
  
"Come on, let's just stop somewhere, I'm starved!" Tyson looked warily at the ground, and nearly tripped on Max as he fell to the ground. "You okay, buddy?" He stopped, and leaned over Max, who sat up, and rubbed his knees.  
  
"My legs are killing me! Can we please stop." Max squinted over to Kenny and Ray who had stopped, and walked back to Max. Kai stopped too, but dismissed their complaints.  
  
"We should keep going...Fine, stay here. Don't go anywhere." Kai headed off into a huge forest on the side of another mountain.  
  
"Where are you going?" The Chief asked, but they heard no reply, so he shrugged, and sat down. "I brought us some food, I knew this would be a long journey." he handed everyone a sandwich, and they all sat down.  
  
Meanwhile off in the forest, Kai was following the sound of rushing water. He found a stream after a few minutes of searching, and sat down on a rock on the edge. He pulled off his black shirt, and winced. There was a large gash on the side of his chest. He set aside his shirt, and splashed the cool water over his body. He passed his hand over his face, and sat beside the water, holding his side. He wrapped his scarf around his chest, and watched as it soaked up a little bit of blood. He replaced his shirt, and splashed his face with water one last time, and drank a little bit. He stood up carefully, and found his way back to the team.  
  
"Hey, Kai, we saved you a sandwich." Max smiled over at Kai who seemed to ignore that they were even there. He sat down on a rock, and watched them.  
  
"I'm not hungry." Was Kai's only response. He closed his eyes, and tried to cool himself down by not moving.  
  
"Yay, more for me!" Tyson went to grab the sandwich, but Max pulled it away. "Hey! I'm still hungry! What gives?" He frowned at his friends who merely laughed at him.  
  
"We might be hungry later, too. We should save it." Kenny laughed again, and put the sandwich back in his bag. He swung it over his shoulder, and sighed. "The only thing missing from that was a nice glass of water."  
  
Ray nodded. "I know what you mean, I'm dehydrated." He wiped his forehead, and squinted under the sun.  
  
"There's a stream." Was all that Kai said, and pointed to the forest.  
  
"Yes! Could you show us where it is, exactly?" Ray smiled over at Kai, who simply groaned.  
  
"Hn..." He stood up, and went into the forest alone. Everyone soon caught up. He led them to the familiar little pond. He didn't bother getting any more water in case he showed weakness.  
  
They all splashed around fro a good hour, while Kai simply stood and stared away. "Come join us, Kai! It's fun!" Tyson smiled in his direction, but Kai ignored him. He held his arm to his side, and felt the pain it gave him. He regained his composure, and sighed. Tyson ignored his loss of composure, and continued to splash around in the water. After an hour, they all left the forest, and continued on their way to the next village. The heat dried them off in no time, and left them soothed and relaxed as they continued on.  
  
Kai ignored them the whole way, and thought to himself as he felt the loss of blood finally getting near to affect him. He could see a tiny blood stain on his side. He hid it by crossing his arms.  
  
In the evening, they stopped again. They weren't even close to the village yet. Tyson was so happy when he bit into his delicious chicken leg. He was in heaven the whole time that they ate. Kai didn't eat, once again. He found a small cave, and firewood for a fire. He sat down inside the small cave, and leaned against the rock wall. He closed his eyes to think.  
  
"Umm... Kai?" Kenny ventured into the cave, and looked down at the captain. He waited a second before Kai's eyes opened.  
  
"Yes." Kai looked at him curiously.  
  
"We - we thought you would be hungry. You haven't eaten all day! It's not good for you, especially when it's this hot out!" Kenny got back his courage, and handed Kai the sandwich, and a bottle that they had filled with water from the stream. Kai took them with no emotion. "Are we going to be staying here all night?"  
  
"If we have to." Kai said matter of factly. "Thank You." He closed his eyes once more, with his arms folded against his chest. The Chief left Kai alone, and rejoined the rest of the team.  
  
"What did Kai say?" Asked Tyson in a friendly voice because he had just eaten ALOT of food. Almost all that was left in Kenny's bag.  
  
"Nothing. Except we might be staying in that cave over there, if we need to. I don't know what he meant, though." Kenny sat down beside a boulder, and found a little bit of shade there. He opened up his laptop, and started to talk to Dizzi.  
  
"Well, if we're staying here then I'd love to go have a look around before the sun sets completely. That forest over there looks so kool!" Max exclaimed, and the others nodded.  
  
"Hey, did you guys notice that Kai didn't have his scarf on?" Ray said suddenly.  
  
"Well, yeah, but maybe he was hot with it on. The weather did change from freezing to boiling hot." Kenny said over Dizzi's analysis. "Oh, sorry Dizzi, what did you say?"  
  
"I said, it should only take us about 5 more hours of walking, the village is just around that tall mountain you see in front of you. Not too much longer." Dizzi replied.  
  
"Well, I say we stay the night. It shouldn't be too bad, and we need to rest awhile longer anyway. We need to conserve our energy." Tyson smiled, and held his right hand to his stomach. "And I don't think I could budge one inch after eating all that."  
  
"Good point." Ray laughed, and the others joined in. "Maybe we should go tell Kai?"  
  
"Nah, Kai won't bother leaving without us, we're his team after all!" Tyson replied, he knew that Kai wasn't one to leave his team behind without a reason. But then again, he never really had a reason for everything.  
  
"Let's go look around!" Max jumped up, and Ray followed him over to the forest.  
  
"Hey, guys, wait up!" Tyson scrambled to his feet, and nearly tripped over Kenny, but Kenny didn't seem to mind. He ran after them, and caught up with them after a few seconds of running.  
  
"Hey, can you hear that?" Ray looked around, and startled the quiet of the forest. "It came from over there!" He pointed over near a bush.  
  
"Hear what?" Tyson looked around, and picked up a funny shaped leaf that was on the ground in front of them.  
  
"Oh, I hear it too!" Max hurried off in the direction that Ray had pointed, followed by Ray. Tyson dropped the leaf, and it fell graciously to the ground as he followed them off deeper into the forest.  
  
They arrived right in front of another stream, but it was a little bit deeper, and moved along slowly. Tyson noticed a few fish swim by in the slow current, and he sat down on a large rock.  
  
"Kool! This is awesome! Another stream, man I was getting thirsty already." Max dipped his hand into the water, and sipped it up. He licked his lips, and smiled happily. "This stuff tastes better than the other stream! I can't explain, it just tastes better!" He took another handful of water, and drank it.  
  
Ray crouched next to the stream, and tried some, too. "Hey," He exclaimed. "This stuff really is good!" He went back for more water and when he was full, he sat down next to Tyson. "You should try some!"  
  
"I'm not really thirsty." Tyson took the time to looks around. "It really is beautiful in here!" They all agreed, and just sat there in peace. Everything was so quiet and peaceful, that they all fell asleep on the rocks. 


	6. Chapter 6 Lessons before The Tournament

Chapter 6  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
After a few hours, Kenny was getting worried that Tyson and the others had gotten lost. "They're probably fine, Chief." Dizzi tried to comfort him, but Kenny didn't like being alone, especially when the sun was almost down, and the forest had more shadows than normal.  
  
"Maybe I should go find them... On second thought, I could get Kai to go find them." He trembled as the sun nearly disappeared behind the mountain.  
  
"They'll show up, chief, don't worry. Maybe Tyson found something to eat!" Dizzi laughed at her own joke.  
  
Kenny ignored her laughter, and looked around him in a paranoid way. "Do you feel like someone or something's watching us?" He trembled again, and swallowed. "I don't like anyplace at night except for some place nice, warm and safe indoors." He nearly screamed when he saw shadows emerging from the trees, and felt his heart race.  
  
"Hey, chief!" One of them called out to him, and Kenny was relieved, it was only Max, Tyson and Ray.  
  
"Geeze guys, don't scare me like that." He looked down and noticed he was hugging his laptop to his chest. He let go of it, and closed it.  
  
"Sorry, Kenny. We didn't meant to. We all fell asleep near another stream. Man, the water there tastes so good!" Ray licked his lips, and recalled the taste.  
  
"Oh well. We should probably go get a fire started, the sun's almost completely gone!" Kenny jumped up, and held his laptop and his bag close to him.  
  
"Yeah, and it's getting pretty cold, too." Tyson spoke as he shivered. He rubbed his arms in hopes of keeping warm.  
  
They all found the cave where Kai was, and started a nice little fire. They left Kai alone at the very back of the cave. He looked sound asleep to them.  
  
"That's better." Ray sighed, and stretched his arms out in front of the small fire.  
  
"I agree." Tyson kneeled in front of the fire, and felt the heat warm him up. "Wow, Kai has been sleeping a lot lately, usually he sleeps at our matches!" Tyson didn't bother to look back at Kai.  
  
"Yeah, he has. But I don't think he ever slept at out matches, Tyson. He was usually thinking, or in deep thought or something like that." Ray argued.  
  
"What's there to think about during a match - except winning!" Tyson sat down with his legs crossed, and his hands behind his head. Everyone laughed, and the cave echoed with laughter. Only Kai didn't join in. he was trying to rest and get more of his strength back.  
  
They fell asleep around the fire, and Kai ended up putting it out with water from the stream. He spent most of the night outside in the cold, it was refreshing to him. When he got too cold, he went back to the very back of the cave, and stretched himself out with his jacket over himself as a blanket. He couldn't sleep for a while, however, because the temperature dropped to nearly 20 below. He didn't imagine how the others managed to stay asleep through it all.  
  
In the morning, he was the first one awake, right at sunrise. He filled his empty bottle full of water, and remembering the sandwich, he took it out and ate it. It didn't fill him up, but it would have to do. He went to the stream, and took off his shirt again. He pulled off his blood stained scarf, and soaked it in the stream. It took a while, but he washed it until it was as white as snow. Then he washed his side, with much difficulty. The wound still seemed fresh. It wasn't really healing itself. He shrugged, and replaced the wet scarf around his chest. He put back on his shirt, and went back to the cave. He could hear the others waking up, so he turned around and sat on a rock, and watched the clouds float around gracefully, taking different shapes.  
  
Kenny shook Tyson's shoulders lightly, and called to him "Tyson, wake up!" He gave up after a few minutes, and let Ray and Max shake him awake to their hearts content. Kenny watched as Tyson finally woke up. He rubbed his eyes, and tried to roll over to sleep again when Ray pulled the bag from underneath his head. Tyson's head hid the ground with a thud. He sat up and rubbed his head where it hurt.  
  
"All right, I'm up." He looked around. "Hey, where's Kai?" Everyone shrugged, and Tyson just shrugged his shoulders too.  
  
They all got their stuff back in their bags, and had a light breakfast of a few pieces of fruit that Kenny still had. They got ready to leave, and found Kai sitting on a rock stuck in his thoughts.  
  
"Can we go now, oh mighty captain?" Tyson joked, but Kai fixed his deathly glare on Tyson. Tyson shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.  
  
"Hn..." Kai got up, and they followed him all the way to the foot of the mountain. It was so tall! They nearly fell over trying to see the top of it.  
  
"That's huge!" Max said softly, and shrugged. He looked around, and saw a small road. He ran over to where it headed downhill. He gasped and looked down at the little village. It was so old, it was all made from rock, as far as he could tell, and some of it was crumbling. One huge building looked out of place right in the middle of it all. It looked too new, and he could see little people crowded around it from where he was standing. "Hey guys, take a look at this!"  
  
They all crowded around behind Max, and the whole way down to the town that's all they would talk about. It annoyed Kai greatly.  
  
"Yes! We're here!" Tyson punched the air, and smiled very happily at the entrance to the village. Kai on the other hand looked kind of - disappointed. The grim look on his face seemed to get even more grim. If that's possible. His eyes were ablaze with anger towards himself. He was now feeling the results of the blood loss. He ignored it. He should be used to pain by now, he had always been hurt as a child. He frowned down at the ground. "Can we look around for awhile?" Max looked over at Kai questioningly.  
  
Kai simply nodded, that way he would be able to clean up his wound, and have time to practice more with Dranzer. "But hurry up, and try to practice as much as you can. The tournament is this afternoon." Kai walked in the opposite direction as they others, and found himself in the building itself that looked out of place. He found a washroom, and waited until no one was around. He cleaned his scarf again, and inspected his wound. It was deeper than he remembered. He nearly fell down, and grabbed the counter top saving him from falling. But it was the pain that had caused him to lose composure. He needed to gain it. At all costs. He wrapped his damp scarf around his chest. He made sure it was tight so that the bleeding would surely stop, then he left the washroom. He made his way around the village, slowly, and tried not to arouse suspicions. He was nearly scared as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Max, Tyson, Ray, and the White Tigers all behind him.  
  
"Hey, Kai!" Lee smiled up at him. There was no trace of hate in his face or voice. That made Kai suspicious. He had beaten the whole team of White Tigers without remorse, and the whole team was angry at him, then. Now they were all smiling at him like it never happened.  
  
"Hn..." He couldn't seem to say anything, he was so surprised.  
  
"We're here for the new tournaments, too. We saw a few of the All Stars around here somewhere, too." Mariah smiled over at the others.  
  
"Maybe we could all practice together?" Ray suggested, and tried to ignore Mariah's smiling face. "That is - if your practicing..."  
  
"Sure!" Lee stopped smiling, and pointed to the odd looking building. "They have a practicing room for they bey battlers somewhere inside. We saw it earlier."  
  
They all agreed, and made their way into the very, very large room. There were hundreds of people spread out with small dishes in front of them, battling each other.  
  
Kai just stood and watched as they practiced against each other, and won and lost. He was too tired for some reason. So he didn't take anyone's challenge. He took out Dranzer was his pocket, and his launcher, too. He needed to be strong, for both himself and Dranzer. He had to win in the tournament, for his team. And for himself. He didn't notice as someone took a spot on the bench beside him. He was busy staring down at his beyblade and thinking.  
  
"Kai?" A voice spoke from beside him, a familiar voice. Kai looked up from his blade, and wasn't surprised to see Steth. Steth placed a hand on Kai's shoulder. "Have you looked at the schedule for who's going against who?" He gestured over at a paper stuck on the wall.  
  
"No, I haven't." Kai looked back down at his beyblade.  
  
"Good. Then don't look." Steth seemed to be trying to warn him, but Kai didn't care. Kai kept looking down at his beyblade. "How about a friendly battle?"  
  
"No. Not now." Kai ignored his past friend, and nearly dropped his beyblade when Steth clapped his shoulder. That's when he remembered the pain. But it only blinded him for a few seconds.  
  
"All right, but you have to be strong when you're in the beybattle. Both you and Dranzer. Share the strength, Kai, do it or be defeated." Steth then smiled, and got up. He almost got away when someone half his size challenged him to a battle with his beyblade.  
  
"I don't think you want to challenge me." He looked down at the youngster, and Kai looked over at him. He was talking to one of the all stars.  
  
"You think I'll beat you? Well then you're right." The young boy pushed aside a piece of hair under his baseball cap.  
  
"I just don't have time, maybe another time? And if you do think you can beat me, then keep thinking that. Because maybe it's not true." Steth smiled down at him, and glanced back at Kai. Then he left the practicing room.  
  
"Dragoon!" Tyson yelled, and shared his anger with his bit beast. "Attack!" He commanded and watched happily as his bitbeast lunged towards Draciel.  
  
"Draciel, defense! Now!" But it was too late, and Max's beyblade wavered, and fell.  
  
"Aw, come on Max. You've almost got it! You've got to believe that you're a part of your bitbeast!" Tyson exclaimed as Max picked up his beyblade.  
  
"I know, I'm almost there, but I don't know how to complete the connection. Something is missing somehow!" Max frowned at his beyblade, and attached it to his launcher again.  
  
Kai watched them from a distance, and shook his head. He could make Max realise what was missing, but he wasn't convinced he had enough energy. He got up and walked over to their mini arena. Tyson looked at him surprised, like he would never go up to them.  
  
"May I?" Kai looked at Tyson, and Tyson backed away with his beyblade in his hand.  
  
"Sure!" Tyson stared at him for a while, then watched. Max looked curiously at Kai for a few moments, then nodded at Tyson.  
  
"All right. 3 - 2 - 1" He paused, and yelled "Let it rip!!!" He watched Kai and Max as they launched their beyblades into the little stone arena. Kai's beyblade spun around Max's like it was waiting, or taunting him to attack.  
  
"Draciel!" Max called out, not taking any chances. "Attack!" "Dranzer!" Kai yelled at his beyblade, and both bitbeasts appeared simultaneously, and lunged forward at each other. Kai then remembered how annoying the team had been today, and he felt the connection. His bitbeast was faster than Max's and hit it out of the arena with no difficulties. Max stared down at his beyblade. Dranzer let out a triumphant cry, and Kai almost smiled down at his beyblade as it launched itself into his hand, while the bitbeast disappeared. "You have to feel something. Feel exactly what your bitbeast is feeling. Then let go of your feelings and emotions. And give them all to your bitbeast. Become your bitbeast." Kai stared down at Dranzer, and said "Hn..." "Hmm..." Max looked at his beyblade and attached it to his launcher again. But Kai went back over to the bench. Tyson took his place, and what surprised them both was that Max completed the connection, and his Bitbeast emerged without a call, and threw Tyson's blade out of the ring.  
  
"Now you got it! Good one, Max!" Tyson picked up Dragoon, and smiled happily at his friend. They both laughed a little, and practiced again. 


	7. Chapter 7 Old Evils Return

Chapter 7 - Old Evils Return  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Later in the afternoon, an announcement from invisible speakers. It scared everyone, and they all stopped their battles.  
  
"They beybattles will begin shortly. The first teams up should find their place in the main arena as soon as possible." Then it hit Tyson, he hadn't checked to see when he would be beyblading!  
  
"Calm down, Tyson, I already checked. We're the first team up, against another team I'm not familiar with, they're called the 'Mountain Spirit.' I think they are the native team in this village. This is their village!" The Chief said slowly as he walked towards with them to the arena.  
  
"Oh, great. So we're first, and we're up against the people who will have all of the support. That's just great." Tyson complained as they found Ray and Kai and the way into the Arena for the challengers. As they entered the arena, there were explosions of cheers from the crowd. "Man, hey, these people aren't from the village, I've seen allot of them at our other matches!"  
  
"Looks like our fans came along to cheer us on our way!" Max smiled, and they all sat down on their side of the arena on a long, yellow bench. They talked about their moves and such until the voice came over the speakers again.  
  
"All right, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to this hopefully exciting tournament! Up first is our own team the 'Mountain Spirit!' And they sure are full of spirit! And they are against the Bladebrakers!" Again the explosions of cheers from the fans were all deafening.  
  
"First up from each team are Max, from the bladebrakers and Troy from the Mountain Spirit!" There were more cheers from the crowd, and Max got prepared. They all noticed a group on the other side of the arena, all of whom were pretty emotionless. Max got up with his launcher and beyblade, and advanced to the big ring where their beyblades would fight. Max's opponent, Troy walked over as well, and they both looked each other in the eye. Troy glared at him as he groaned. His green hair didn't at all match his clothing or his face, but he seemed not to care.  
  
"Max from the Bladebrakers is a very powerful opponent! His bitbeast Draciel is one angry beast. If his opponent isn't careful, he'll have to answer from one angry bitbeast. Troy from the Mountain Spirit is also very powerful. But if his sense of fashion is even closed to his beyblading capabilities, expect a short match! Troy's bitbeast Trinario is one evil bird. It's half eagle half dragon looks may not clash, but beware, his bite is worse than his bark - or looks. All right, let's start! 3 - 2  
- 1 - LET IT RIP!!"  
  
Max was sure confident, but unsure as well. He launched, and watched as his opponent did the same. He used the same approach he usually did, but made sure his mind was clear of all other thought. Instead of waiting, Troy yelled at his beyblade to attack.  
  
"Attack, Trinario!" He yelled in his cold, emotionless voice.  
  
"Draciel!!!!" Max screamed out, and felt the connection right from the beginning. "Attack!" He watched as both bitbeasts emerged. Max watched happily as Draciel hit the other beyblade so hard that it went shooting up in the air. It landed just outside the ring, and Max laughed happily. "Yes!" he could hear his friends congratulating him from afar. His opponent, Troy, bowed to him with no emotion, and returned with his beyblade to the rest of his team.  
  
Max was greeted by the triumphant cries of joy from his team.  
  
"Good going, Max! You did it!" Tyson patted Max's back, and Ray and the Chief both congratulated him as well.  
  
Kai was against a girl named Karia, who had a strange bitbeast that resembled a rabbit. They were both matched against each other, and Kai won easily. Tyson went up against Charlie, a short boy for his age with a lot of rage, and a tough bitbeast to beat. It was an odd looking turtle with wings. But Tyson won with his strength propelling Dragoon. And Ray battled with another boy with a funny looking bitbeast. It looked like a canary and a dog morphed together. He also won without any real competition.  
  
They then found out that the team had created their bitbeasts. But that didn't have much effect now, did it.  
  
Kai still wasn't happy even after they won all four battles, and their first match. He kept quiet as he felt someone familiar in the crowd watching him very, very closely.  
  
They went up into the stadium, and found themselves some really good seats close to the action.  
  
Kai still found it difficult to really concentrate. He tried, but something was holding him back from understanding. He caught a glimpse in the crowd across from him of a familiar face.  
  
"No..." Kai gripped the sides of the chair he was sitting in. "It can't be!" He couldn't believe it, he looked again, and saw the face more clearly. "I don't believe it." He clenched his teeth together, and got up, he had to leave. If his grandfather saw him, that would be the end.  
  
"What is it, Kai? What's wrong?" Ray looked at him with an odd expression on his face, and he looked over to where Kai had his eyes fixed upon. Ray cried out in shock "No way!" He saw the back of Voltaire just as he left through special doors.  
  
"What's up, Ray?" Max smiled over at his friend and looked at him curious to know what was wrong.  
  
"Voltaire... He's back!" Ray said in little more than a whisper.  
  
"What??" Max dropped his happy expressions, and his face got very dark. Like he would explode with evil.  
  
Kai got up and ran away. Away from it all. He ran as far as he could before his friends caught up with him. Kai collapsed on the ground on his knees, and held himself up with his hands right in front of him. "He's back..." Kai said in a mere whisper.  
  
"Well, that's ok Kai. He won't touch you when we're around." Tyson smiled with a 'sure of himself' attitude.  
  
"You don't understand. If he's back, then..." Kai stopped short of telling them everything. He couldn't tell them any of it, they wouldn't understand! He instead covered it up. "He'll be able to have another go at trying to take over the world. He..." Kai couldn't tell them. But he had watched his grandfather do it. "He has a copy of Black Dranzer, and he's made more of them I'm sure." Kai closed his eyes and felt the air around him turn to ice as the familiar smell advanced towards them. It was Voltaire. Kai's eyes snapped open, and were wide with shock and fear as the figure emerged from the shadows, and glared down at them.  
  
"Hello, Kai." He spat the words out, and took no notice of the others surrounding their friend. "You should be more grateful towards your elders." Voltaire snapped his fingers, and three men clad in black took positions beside their master.  
  
"I see you still have people to do your bidding for you? You haven't changed one bit, Voltaire." Kai growled up at him. At the harsh words, Voltaire nodded to his faithful servants, and they lunged at Kai, and grabbed him with force. Kai was kicking and punching at his attackers, with no result. The bladebrakers threw themselves at the three, and there was much confusion. Kenny had attached himself to one servant's head, Max had thrown himself at one and knocked him down, and attached himself to his waist. Ray had grabbed the same one as Kenny, and was hanging onto his leg, punching him really hard. Tyson was hanging off of one of their arms, and when nothing seemed to stop him, he bit into the arm as hard as he could. The servant let go of Kai, and Kai bolted away, only to be grabbed by Voltaire himself. Kai struggled as hard as he could, but the old man had his strength, that's for sure. Soon enough, the servants were all in full control of the fight, and Max, Tyson, Ray and Kenny were pinned under their arms.  
  
Before they knew what had happened, they were let go of, and ran off alongside Voltaire, who was still holding his terrified grandson.  
  
"Oh, man! We need to get Kai back!" Tyson stood up, and rubbed his cheek, where there was a bruise just forming.  
  
"And if we don't he's doomed! And we are too! We have another match with him in two days!" Kenny cried out from his spot on the ground. Tyson gave him a hand, and helped him up. Kenny was fine again, except for a few red marks on his left arm. Max had a long bruise on his right arm, and Ray had no marks whatsoever. They rushed back into the stadium, where they noticed the match with the All Stars against the ToughBladers was over, and the All Stars were all grinning. The other team was looking pretty sad and angry.  
  
"Let's go see if they can help us!" Max and the others rushed down to where the doors were. The All Stars emerged happily with their determined looks on their faces.  
  
"Mom! You've got to help us! Please!" Max pleaded, and was almost to tears by the time they team noticed them.  
  
"What's wrong Max? Calm down!" His mother sat him down on a bench, and listened to their whole story. "That's horrible!"  
  
"But you don't understand! It's worse than that! We met a friend of Kai's -" The whole All Stars team was shocked to hear that he ever had any friends before. "And he told us almost everything! Kai's grandfather isn't exactly friendly, and he beat Kai as a child! Every day!" Tyson blurted out, he knew he shouldn't have, but he needed them to understand that Kai was in danger. Real danger!  
  
"Well how can we help? We don't know where he is. By the way, where's Ray?" Emily looked around curiously, with her tennis racket beyblade launcher over her shoulder.  
  
"Oh, no! We must've lost him somewhere!" Kenny groaned, and looked down at the ground. "Everything's going terribly wrong today..." He complained quietly to himself. Emily smiled at him sadly. That's when the chief blushed.  
  
Just then, someone sneaked up behind them with a smiled on his face. "What's with the long faces?" It was Steth, he made everyone jump and turn around.  
  
"It's Kai, his grandfather showed up and took him away." Kenny said really fast without any breaths.  
  
"Yeah, but not before his faithful servants had a go at us. They were twice our size!" Tyson touched his cheek gingerly, and then remembered how he had bitten one of them. "We did pretty well, though!"  
  
Steth's face turned to stone, and he backed up slowly with other thoughts on his mind. "Dammit!" He breathed quietly to himself.  
  
"Where're you going?" Max looked up at the newcomer.  
  
"Somewhere... I shouldn't have left him! God Dammit..." Steth turned his heel, and left them. But not before they all jumped up and followed close beside him. "You shouldn't come along." Steth muttered to them silently.  
  
"We're not abandoning him." Tyson said defiantly.  
  
"It would be better if you did, you're putting yourself at risk by doing this." Steth looked back at them.  
  
"No way." Max was followed closely by his mother, she'd be damned if she let him go and follow some freak alone. "Kai's our friend! Just like he's your friend!" Max pointed out to Steth simply.  
  
They followed him out of the tournament building, and down a gravel road that led to a mansion. They were all surprised to find the White Tigers there.  
  
"Hey guys! We followed Ray here, but he went inside, and we can't find a way in!" Le smiled at them all.  
  
"Ray's there too?!?" Tyson sighed, and his shoulders sagged down low.  
  
"But lucky for me I come here all the time." Steth didn't bother looking back at them as they followed him to the side of the mansion. There was a small window at the ground level. "This way is easiest, they don't have security in the basement." He pushed it opened, and slid himself slowly down into the darkness. Everyone followed suite, except Max's mother.  
  
"This is your fight, not mine. I'll meet you kids back at the tournament building. If you're not back sooner or later, I'll call for help." She told him quietly, and watched as he slid down into darkness. She walked back to the tournament, and watched some kids practicing.  
  
On the inside, the mansion didn't look so big. The basement was pretty small. But Steth led them to a dead end anyway. "You all know the risk of setting inside this building. If you're not comfortable, go back now. There's no turning back once we get inside. And if you do, you might get caught." He looked at their grim faces, and watched as they all nodded, even the small one, Kenny, nodded. He felt around on the brisk wall, and when he found a small gap between two, he stuck his fingers inside it and moved them around for a few seconds. Then he removed them, and they brick walls slid apart quickly and swiftly. They all followed him inside, careful about where they stepped because of the uneven floor.  
  
They then heard a haunting sound. A scream of pain came from all directions of the hall that they had entered. Everyone swallowed, and huddled closer together. "Kai..." Tyson looked around hopelessly. 


	8. Chapter 8 Rescuing Kai and Old Memories

Chapter 8  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Split up, that way they'll have a hard time finding us." Steth gestured around to halls that crossed over the one they were in.  
  
"Who will? And why?" Michael from the All stars looked at him curiously.  
  
"The guards and servants. Because there are about 20 of them and few of us. And because as soon as that brick wall closes, an alarm will sound, telling someone that the secret door was opened. So hurry, run!" He pushed them away, and they all set off in groups of two. Kenny went with Emily. And Max and Tyson followed Steth as closely as they could. Then a huge siren sounded for a few seconds behind them. "Oh, great." Steth led them to a small room, where they hid as a few guards passed them.  
  
Then they heard the screams of pain once more, but this time closer. Steth gestured at them to hurry up, and they ran down another few halls. They passed a room that looked funny to Tyson. Steth ended up leading them back there, where he looked hollow faced into the room through a small glass window. They all looked in, and were horrified. They saw Kai hung up by his arms and his legs were attached to the wall, too. His shirt had been ripped off, and was on the ground beside his stained white scarf. Steth's eyes followed the others' gaze, and found himself staring at numerous wounds on his chest, still fresh and bleeding. A man was standing in front of him, with a ship in his hand. Kai's head eventually hung down, and his jaws were clenched together as he was whipped again and again. he finally let out a cry of pain again. They could now hear the laughter from the man in front of him. The man eventually left Kai to his shivering and muttering to himself, and left the room via the opposite door.  
  
They rushed in, and looked at Kai fearfully. "Kai?" Max whispered up at his friend. Kai's eyes opened for a brief moment, and glimpsed at his friends as Steth unlocked Kai from the wall. Kai fell flat on his face. His breathing was ragged. Just then, Ray showed up from the same door that he man had left through.  
  
"Ray?" Tyson looked up at him, and his eyes questioned his friend.  
  
"I tried to follow them, but they caught me. I just managed to get free." He panted, and Max and the others noticed a fresh red mark on his face. He helped them stand up Kai. Kai tried to walk by himself, but fell over every few seconds.  
  
"Here," Steth grabbed Kai, and held him up on his back like a piggy back ride. Kai's head collapsed on Steth's shoulder, and his arms sagged down in front of Steth.  
  
"What about the others?" Tyson suddenly realised that there were still his other friends somewhere down there.  
  
"I saw them and told them to go back." Ray recalled at how disappointed they all were when he made them leave.  
  
They rushed out through the secret hidden entrance with no difficulty, but had some trouble pushing Kai through the window, when the other teams showed up, and helped pull him out. They ran as fast as they could from the evil place, with Steth in the back, still holding Kai. They reached the tournament center, but Steth led them to a different room.  
  
"Where are we going?" Emily and Mariah both asked him simultaneously.  
  
"To some of my friends. They can help him." They found themselves confronted by really tall people, all of whom were suspicious until Steth brought Kai forward.  
  
"What happened?" One girl with red hair like Thala's questioned Steth, and glared over at the other people who she didn't recognise.  
  
"I failed to see that he was in danger. And these are his friends, the All Stars, the White Tigers, and the Bladebreakers." He turned around to them, and finally smile. "I'm Steth, for those of you who didn't know. I'm Kai's old friend." He turned back to his friends, and told them something.  
  
"I'm Leo." The one with spike purple hair, black eyes, and a grey suit on waved at them and smiled. He repositioned his glasses, and continues. "This is Spike." He gestured to a younger boy sitting down in a corner, his head in his knees. His head shot up at the sound of name. His blond hair was messy, and his green eyes were really innocent looking. "And this is Anya." The red haired girl bowed to them, and gave Steth a cruel look.  
  
Leo went over to Kai, who they had lay down on a small bed, and he inspected his wounds and cuts. He reassured them all that he would be fine. He cleaned and bandaged Kai's chest, and washed Kai's scarf from the blood stains. The All Stars and the White Tigers left, but The Bladebreakers refused to leave their friend behind.  
  
"We're not leaving without Kai. Please let us stay?" Kenny asked them shyly. He looked around uncomfortable under their gaze, and then gave up and scurried behind his friends.  
  
"Yeah, can they stay?" Spike asked his teammates in a really innocent young voice. Everyone watched him, and sighed.  
  
"Fine." Anya gave in, and sat down in a chair in front of a computer. She indulged herself into other things, and ignored everything else.  
  
"These cuts are recent. But this one-" Leo pointed to the larger one on Kai's side. "This one is older. Maybe a day or two older."  
  
"What? But Kai was with us the whole time, he never got hurt!" Tyson argued until he saw the difference. Leo replaced the bandages, and put a blanket over Kai's unmoving body.  
  
"That's not true. Remember the boulders that just happened to fall down on us?" Max recalled the incident. Kai had been pinned under rocks. Sharp rocks. Ray and the chief nodded as they, too, remembered.  
  
"So what's the big deal. Why do you think you have to watch Kai's back all the time?" Ray blurted out, and bit his tongue after. He received nasty looks from all of them except Spike who was still watching them all curiously.  
  
"Because. I'm not sure if I should tell you or not." Steth ignored their gazes, and sat down on a chair beside Kai on the bed. "You know how Kai was in the Abbey? Well I was, too. Only I was different. They needed me for some stupid reason, but I could resist them. I almost escaped the Abbey, but they locked me up in a room with the highest security. I'm an experiment gone wrong." He looked down at the ground. "What do you mean, experiment gone wrong?" Max frowned as he tried to understand what Steth meant.  
  
"They grew me in the laboratory." He stopped short, and took a deep breath, as if to calm himself down. "Like a test tube baby. But they tried to cross over my DNA with a bitbeast's DNA. It didn't work out properly. Only a few things actually worked out. But I never let them find out. See, they were trying to make human warriors and bitbeast warriors to take over the world." He was having difficulty telling them, when Kai suddenly opened his eyes. Kai looked up at Steth sadly.  
  
"Why did you tell them?" Kai managed to choke out.  
  
"I had to. I had to tell someone, Kai." He whispered to only Kai, then continued. "I have a few characteristics of my bitbeast. I am determined, I protect the few friends and allies I have, I have a strange power of healing that only works sometimes. And I even feel my bitbeasts emotions sometimes, we are connected in ways no one could ever imagine. The rest of my DNA is something I wish I could get rid of, it sickens me to think of it. I have part of Borris's DNA inside of me." He shuddered, and leaned back in his chair. Kai watched him sadly.  
  
The Bladebreakers were astonished, and when they noticed Kai trying to prop himself up in the bed, thy all ran over to him, overjoyed. He pushed them away, but they stayed beside him anyway, and helped him sit up. He looked down at his chest, and held a hand to the bandage. He looked around, then spoke.  
  
"Where's my shirt?" Kai sounded a little annoyed.  
  
"Oh, here you go." Ray blushed as he handed the irritated Kai his black shirt. Kai slipped it over his head slowly, then found his wet scarf beside him, on the floor. He felt around inside his pocket, and took out Dranzer. He closed his hand around it, then put it back in his pants.  
  
*That's it for now! I'm going camping, so I should have more chapters up in a few days*  
  
-August 21st, 2003, 6:13P.M.  
  
*And thanks to the people that reviewed my story! I appreciate you guys being really honest with my work^-^* *Oh my goodness I'm on someone's Fav. Author list!! I'm so happy ^-^* 


	9. Chapter 9 Getting Settled In

Chapter 9  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Later on in the evening, Steth and the others finally convinced the Bladebreakers to leave Kai in their care for a while, and they found themselves following Tyson around at an outdoor Barbeque in the streets. It was being held for all the Beybladers of the tournament. But it took and Steth and his friends quite a lot of convincing to keep Kai lying down, he didn't like being kept against his will. But he gave in just this once, and stared at his beyblade in deep thought for the remainder of his stay.  
  
"Anya, what are you working on now?" Steth put his hand on her shoulder, and watched as she changed some data and stuff on her computer.  
  
"I'm working on our data. All of our competitors, the teams, their bitbeasts; I'm analysing all of it." She said, still staring directly to the screen.  
  
"That's good." Steth glanced around at his team members, then his eyes landed on Kai's unmoving body.  
  
"Hey, Leo?" Spike asked tentatively from his corner. "Are we." He paused, then continued. "Are we going up against the bladebreakers?" He looked over at Leo with a concerned look spreading across his face.  
  
"You'll have to ask Steth, Spike. I haven't checked the lists for our next matches, yet." Leo smiled down at his younger brother, and went over to the boy's solitary corner. Leo sat down, and ruffled the boy's hair. "Why so concerned?" He smiled.  
  
"Well, for one thing I don't want to go against the Bladebreakers, I don't like fighting against nice people like them. And because I'm worried that Anya would take it too seriously to go up against the world's top beyblading team! She'll make herself sick like last time! She analyses everything too much!" Spike lowered his voice into an almost whisper, and made sure that only his big brother could hear him.  
  
"Don't worry. Beyblading is just a game, maybe a really important one, but still. Games are meant to be harmless, and no one should go up against other teams in this game if they are doing it because of hate. It's all for fun." Leo reassured him, and put his arm around Spike. "So don't worry? You worry too much."  
  
"I'm sorry." Spike whispered, and hugged his brother around his waist. "I'll try not to worry if Anya promises not too analyse everything and make herself sick again."  
  
"I promise." Anya had turned around, and was smiling over at Spike, she obviously had overheard them talking. "You brother's right, don't worry." She smiled again, and went back to analysing, but she took her time, and went a little more slowly than before.  
  
Meanwhile, in the streets of the small village, Tyson was pigging out at the Barbeque. His team mates were watching him hopelessly, and laughing at him, too. After about twenty minutes, they found themselves sitting in a corner somewhere down the street of the tournament building. They were all munching on burgers and fries. Tyson was the last one to finish his food, and they chatted while he held his hand to his stomach, and groaned.  
  
"So who were they?" Ray pondered aloud.  
  
"Who?" Kenny looked up from his laptop, and over at Ray.  
  
"Those people who are taking care of Kai?" Max looked over at Ray, and he nodded at him.  
  
"I believe they may be a team here, or maybe just a group of people holding the tournament together?" Kenny shrugged, and typed something into his laptop.  
  
"Probably." Tyson said as he burped out loud, and sighed. "Man, that was good food. I wish we were allowed to have more!" He smiled around at everyone, and they all laughed, and shook their heads at him.  
  
"Excuse me. Is this." A man in a suite walked up to him with a clipboard and sheets of paper. He checked his paper, and continued. "Is this the Bladebreakers team?"  
  
"Yup, that's us!" Tyson said between sips of his drink, and the rest of them nodded their heads politely.  
  
"All right. If you would please follow me, I will show you to your rooms." He bowed at them, and they followed him into the tournament building, up a few flights of stairs, and down a dimly lit hall, they passed at least thirty separate doors leading to other rooms.  
  
He stopped them in front of the room at the very end of the hall on the right side. "Two of you may room in here." He gestured to the room across from it, on the right side, and continued. "The other three may have this room." He bowed at them again, and left them all standing there.  
  
"I want this room, its got a t.v. and everything!" He dragged Kenny in the room with two beds, and Ray and Max both shrugged. They laughed as they watched Kenny disappear out of site, still clutching his laptop. They went into the other room, and put down their bags. It was a rather large room, with a T.V., stereo system, one bunk bed, one single bed, and a big washroom beside the door to the hall. Max dropped himself onto the bottom half of the bunk bed, and a smile spread across his face.  
  
"This is so kool!" He exclaimed, and Ray laughed. Ray sat down on a couch that was directly in front of the t.v., and looked around.  
  
"Yeah, it is." Ray said with a dazed look on his face. He wondered if Kai would mind sleeping in their room. He shrugged, and leaned back on the comfortable couch. He drifted off to sleep with Max still raving about how kool their room was. Well, until Max realised that Ray had fallen asleep, and he laughed at himself, and lay back down on the bottom bunk.  
  
Tyson and Kenny's room looked exactly the same as Max's, but it was a little bit smaller. Kenny found himself a desk, where he laid down his laptop, and set down his bag on the floor beside the desk. Tyson dropped his stuff down beside a bed, and looked around him, curiously. He saw the t.v. again, and sat down on the couch in front of it. He turned it on, and channel surfed until he found out that there wasn't anything good on yet, it was news time everywhere. He turned it off, and lay down on the bed that he claimed. It was the closest to the door. He stared up at the ceiling, and watched the ceiling fan spin. He got drowsy after a while, and told the Chief that he would take a nap. Kenny agreed with him that having a nap was a good idea, then turned back to his laptop. He made sure to talk to Dizzi quietly as Tyson fell asleep, and turned down Dizzi's volume, so that she, too, wouldn't talk as loud.  
  
Kai lay awake on the cot that they had put him on, and sighed. It was useless. He would never get them to let him go back to his team. He stared up at the ceiling, and thought to himself. He tried to figure out ways to escape, but none of his plans seemed to be good enough for him to use.  
  
"Kai?" Steth walked over to his old friend, and sat down in the chair beside him. Kai ignored him, and Steth continued to talk. "Leo thinks you should be able to rejoin your team shortly, he says that you'll be fine if you don't do much except rest for the next day or so." Steth raises his eyebrows, and leaned over Kai.  
  
"Hn." Kai finally snapped back to reality, and sat up. He looked over at Steth, who didn't smile for once. He showed no emotion. So did Kai. Kai picked up his beyblade, and stood up just as someone knocked at the door to Steths' teams' room. Steth opened the door, and let the man in a suite come in.  
  
"Mister Kai Hiwatari?" The man checked his list, and Kai looked up at him at the mention of his name. "If you will follow me?" He bowed to Kai, and left the room. Kai looked back at Steth, and nodded at him. Steth and his team waved at him.  
  
Kai left with the man, and followed him up several flights of stairs. "Where are you taking me?" Kai finally asked the question that was bothering him.  
  
"To your room, sir." The man took him to the end of a hallway, and knocked on one of the doors. Max opened the door, and peered over at Kai and the man. The man bowed again to both of them, and left quickly.  
  
"Hey, Kai!" Max smiled at him, and let Kai come in to their room. Kai noticed that Ray was outstretched on a couch in front of a t.v., and he shook his head. Max sat on the bottom of the bunk bed, and gestured to the single bed in the opposite corner of the room, across from the bunk bed. Kai found his bag at the end of the bed, and he sat down on his bed. He noticed a very large window beside his bed, and he stared outside. He glared down at the large mansion that was clearly visible from the windows. He closed half of the curtains, and lay down on his bed. It wasn't too late, but he could feel the sleep pulling him under. He didn't give in, though, instead he kept himself awake by thinking of Dranzer and his beyblades' moves. When he glanced over at Max, he had fallen asleep sitting up with his beyblade, Draciel, in the hand of his outstretched arm. He looked peaceful, so did Ray. Kai ignored the feelings of sleep slowly taking him away. He finally gave in, and felt his eye lids get heavier and heavier. Kai's eyes fluttered closed, and his breathing got shallower. His beyblade was still beside him.  
  
Even Kenny fell asleep earlier, probably because they had walked a lot and travelled far, from the city before. He fell asleep with his head in his arms on the desk, his laptop still wide open. Tyson didn't wake up from his nap, instead, he slept on until morning like the rest of their team.  
  
The sky outside sparkled with all of the stars, and a few clouds in the sky made it appear more majestic and magical than ever. People all over the country enjoyed the beautiful night air and sky as it passed them by gracefully and peacefully.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
MagicFae: yay, I'm back from my camping trip with my friend, Britania! It was really fun, we were following deer for almost an hour and a half, and we had fun listening to the drunk people nearby talking to each other or to themselves! It was a whole lot of fun! I got back earlier than I expected, I only spent one night camping! But I'm glad that I'm back now! I missed the last episode of Beyblade! -.- Oh well, I'll continue writing this story anyway! It's really a lot of fun!  
  
Steth: Woohoo, we're glad that you're back, and that you can keep writing the story! I can't wait to see what else I do! (Oh yeah, MagicFae doesn't own Beyblade or anything to do with it, but she does, however, own me! ()  
  
Max: Yeah, you can just see the next Beyblade show on Monday!  
  
MagicFae: Yeah. Kai, you're more social in the episodes than you were before! You actually smile more, too! ^-^  
  
Kai: Hn. Yes, I suppose I am more social.  
  
Tyson: Hey, thanks for the Barbeque outside, Magic! I love it!  
  
Everyone: -_- *sigh* Figures  
  
Ray: Hey, MagicFae? Is your name Sarah? Because calling you magic or magicfae sort of gets confusing.  
  
MagicFae: I know. Call me whichever name you prefer, whichever one isn't annoying or confusing.  
  
Ray: Ok, Sarah! ^-^ (  
  
MagicFae: Okay, well I'd better get back to writing another chapter! And thanks again to everyone who reviewed my story! I really appreciate it, you guys are the best! ^-^ (And I tried to fix my word program so that it doesn't put everything into one big paragraph!) Bye bye ^-^! 


	10. Chapter 10 Dream? Or Nightmare?

Chapter 10 - Dream? Or Nightmare?  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Ray woke up to the sound of running water in the bathroom. He yawned, and stretched before checked to see what time it was. The clock read 9 o'clock. He jumped up, and found his clothes in his bag. He noticed that he had fallen asleep on the couch. He looked around the room, and noticed Max was still sleeping, but in a very odd position; sitting up. Kai must be having a shower. He put on his clothing, and stretched one more time before he sat back down on the couch. He closed his eyes right when the water stopped running in the shower, and the door to the bathroom opened and shut. He looked over to see Kai wearing his normal every day clothes, drying his hair with a white towel that must have belonged to the establishment.  
  
"Hey, Kai!" Ray smiled at him, and walked past him, into the bathroom. He looked the door, and got washed. Kai didn't even respond. He merely nodded, and walked past him, to his bed. Kai sighed as he noticed Max was slowly sliding onto his side from his uncomfortable position of sleeping on his bed. As his head hit the pole with a funny ringing sound, Max jumped up, only to hit his head on the top of the bunk. Kai laughed to himself.  
  
"Ouch." Max rubbed the side of his head, and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He gazed up at Kai with his blond hair a mess and his blue eyes full of hurt. "Hey, Kai." He winced as he stood up, and held his back with his left hand, as he held his head with his right hand.  
  
"Hnn." Kai managed to say while he held back his laughter. He thought to himself what a clumsy child, Max is. He pushed aside the mean thought, and concentrated on drying up the last of his hair. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Max left the room, still fully clothed from the day before. The door shut with a quick snap, and the sound of running water came from the bathroom. Kai shook his head.  
  
He dropped the towel in the dirty clothes basket, and walked out of the room. He found himself walking along the hall, and he could hear people's voices from the other rooms. Must be the other beybladers. He ignored their chatting, and walked down to the main area of the building. There he saw Steth and his team talking quietly amongst themselves under fake trees. Kai found himself walking towards them. They greeted him as he leaned against the wall.  
  
"Hello, Kai." Steth said with his warm eyes dancing happily. The others greeted him in the same fashion, except Anya. She kept quiet, and jotted down notes. On what? Only Anya knew the answer to that. Kai crossed his arms against his chest, and stared down at the youngest member of the team. He was jumping up and down, and running around Leo, chatting happily with his big brother. Kai shook his head, and sighed.  
  
"Thank you." Kai blurted out to no one in particular from the team, and he turned to walk away. Steth grabbed his shoulder, and smiled at him.  
  
"Your welcome, Kai. Any time! Hey, you want to practice with us?" Steth grinned, and waited Kai's response.  
  
"Hn." Kai said softly, and Steth took his hand off of his friend's shoulder.  
  
"I take that as a yes! Come on, we were just getting ready to go. Hey, do you have your beyblade with you?" Steth shoved his hand in his pocket, and drew out a shiny green and black beyblade. He stared down at it thoughtfully. He smiled again, and put it back in his jacket pocket.  
  
Kai nodded, and watched Steth under his suspicious gaze. He shoved his hands in his pockets, and followed the team. But Anya stayed on the bench, watching people walk by, and writing down little notes to herself. They led him to the beyblading warm up room, another practice room, but smaller, and only a few dishes for a few beybladers. Steth had unlocked the door with a shiny, silver key. It must belong to them, or they were renting it.  
  
"Hey, Steth, can I challenge you first?" The short blonde, Spike was his name, ran over to Steth, his beyblade clasped in his hands. He looked so innocent with youth, and Steth nodded, after Kai closed his eyes. Kai sighed again. He heard the team members launching their beyblades, then yelling and shouting commands. Kai slowly drifted in and out of consciousness, and finally fell asleep, sitting on a bench.  
  
"Hello, Kai." A cold voice chilled Kai to the bone, and his eyes snapped open.  
  
"Who - who's there?" Kai sat up, his arms still folded, his skin covered with goose bumps. It was freezing in the beyblading arena that he awoke in. Everyone was frozen in place, cheering, and a light blue mist hung over their bodies. It was deadly quiet, as he watched the people around him frozen in mid-cheer. He glanced around, and one person returned his gaze. His Grandfather. He was sitting a few rows up, and across from him. "What do you want?" Kai said vehemently.  
  
"You, of course. Come back, won't you? Be a good little Kai, and obey your grandfather? Hmmmm?" The old man laughed, with his eyes closed, and his wrinkly face shaking with every bit of laughter.  
  
"No. Never! I hate you, you and your stupid corporation. I hate anything to do with you!" Kai stood up, and walked past his grandfather, who was still laughing.  
  
"Then you hate yourself, too? No, I know that deep down inside of you, there is a part of you that wishes to return, to find out what mysteries lay behind the laboratory's doors. I know that there is a burning black flame of darkness, waiting for the right moment to resurface, and then there will be nothing stopping you! Remember this?" His grandfather stood up, and threw a small trinket at Kai's head, Kai caught it before it did so. He looked down, and gasped. It - it couldn't be!  
  
He ran his hands over the smooth surface of the bitbeast. It was Ultimate Black Dranzer. "Your experiment. was a. success?" Kai managed to say before he fell down into an empty seat, and stared down at the black bitbeast.  
  
"Yes, Kai. It was, and so were you. You were a success. If you come back, then there will be nothing standing between you and Ultimate Black Dranzer. Imagine how easy it was to defeat others with Black Dranzer. Then think of how easy it would be to defeat the world?" Voltaire had an evil smirk on his face. Kai glared up at him.  
  
"I won't be a part of your stupid experiments!" Kai shouted at him, his voice full of anger. He threw the bitbeast at Voltaire, and it hit him square in the forehead. Kai laughed, but his grandfather growled angrily.  
  
"You already are, Kai. No denying that, is there? You will be punished for your actions, you have been disobeying me again, now what should I do to you?" He looked up, deep in thought. A more evil grin spread across his face, and he pulled some kind of device out of his pocket. It looked like a beyblade, but it was completely made out of metal. Voltaire shoved it in Kai's face, and it attached itself to his temple. He cried out in pain as it stuck tine needles into his skull. He grabbed at it, and tried to rip it out.  
  
Voltaire pulled out a remote from his pocket, and turned a knob on it. Pain shot through Kai's body, and he let his arms fall to his sides. He cried out in pain. Then something forced itself into Kai's mind. And he tried to think of anything to get his mind off of the pain. But his mind was full of nothing, it was all blank. His grandfather laughed, as Kai whimpered on the ground beside the seats.  
  
"Now will you obey me, Kai?" Voltaire turned the knob again, and a shorter version of the pain shot through his body. Kai couldn't move or say anything. "Good. Then get up!" Kai felt himself prop himself up against the seat, and even in pain, he stood up and stared at Voltaire. He then heard something that made him surprised and shocked.  
  
"Yes, Master." Kai's voice spoke, but Kai tried to fight against the urges to obey. But he found that he was being locked away inside his own body. He tried to cry out for help, for anybody! But no words came out, nothing came out, he didn't even move until Voltaire shoved him harshly out of the arena. Kai was terrified of these new sensations. He was trapped!  
  
"Kai? You okay, man?" Kai opened his eyes, and looked up to see Leo staring down at him, his head cocked to one side. Beside him was his little brother, Spike.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. What happened?" He rubbed his eyes, and sat up, and leaned against the wall.  
  
"You fell asleep, did you stay up late, Kai?" Spike smiled up at him, his eyes closed in thought.  
  
"No. It's none of your business." Kai snapped back, but quickly regretted it. Spike looked at him, in a hurt way. Leo glared down at him, and put his hand on Spike's shoulder. He steered his brother to a corner of the room, where thy chatted in private, whispering to each other. They stole glances at him every now and then. Spike finally shrugged, and walked away, and went over to Steth, and talked with him with a smile on his face.  
  
Kai shrugged too, and left the room, forgetting completely about the challenge he had received from Steth. No one bothered to follow him out, and he walked around the tournament building for hours, just thinking. The crowds around him grew larger and larger until he went back to the rooms that he and the others from his team shared, and he dropped himself down on the bed, still thinking about the haunting dream that he had just had. He lay there, staring at the ceiling, deep in thought.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
I'm really sorry for the wait, but I just started school again, and I was away from my computer for a while. I hope this chapter isn't too boring or anything. And I really love all of the reviews. I'm still sorry about the paraphrasing in a few of the chapters, It just happened in Microsoft Word. I'll be working on a way to change those paragraphs, and make them better. Sorry for the wait!! ^-^  
  
I hope you don't hate me fore the long wait, or for anything in the story! 


	11. Chapter 11 Explanations

Chapter 11 - Explanations  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Kai must have fallen asleep, because when he opened his eyes, Ray was staring down at him curiously, Max peering around him.  
  
"Oh, hey, you're awake!" Ray laughed nervously.  
  
"Hn." Kai sighed, and sat upon his bed. He got up, and went into the washroom, where he splashed his face with some fresh cold water. He stared at his reflection in the mirror, and sighed. He was glad that he hadn't had another dream while he was in bed, because the one that he had was bugging him enough already. And he knew that soon his team mates would catch on. Which bugged him even more than the dream itself. He sighed again, and regained his composure. When he felt that he looked better, he left the bathroom, and passed Max and Ray, who were looking at him curiously. Kai ignored them.  
  
"You okay, Kai?" Max raised his eyebrows.  
  
"Yes. I'm fine." Kai left the room, his scarf trailing behind him at an odd angle. Max scratched the back of his blond head, and he and Ray shrugged at each other. They left the room, and walked into Tyson and Kenny's room.  
  
"Hey Max! Hey Ray!" Tyson smiled up at them, he was sitting on the couch watching a movie, eating chips.  
  
"Hey. Where'd you get the chips?" Ray looked from Tyson to the chips.  
  
"I found 'em in the cupboard under the television!" Tyson grinned from ear to ear, and continued watching a movie and eating his chips. Max and Ray shrugged again, and went over to Kenny, who was talking with his Dizzi on his lap.  
  
"So, what are you up to, chief?" Ray asked, completely ignoring Tyson's hysterical laughter in the background, and the crumbs from the chips flying around him as he did so.  
  
"Just analysing more data. It's all we can do right now, isn't it? I mean, we have to face our opponents for us to gain more data!" Kenny let out a long sigh, and put his laptop on the desk, still open.  
  
"That's right, Chief, unless we get access to more data than what we've already got." Dizzi laughed at herself, and everyone shrugged. Except Tyson, he was too emerged in the movie he was watching to hear them.  
  
"Yeah. We should probably go and see who's battling today, shouldn't we?" Max asked as he rubbed his eyes, and pushed a few golden locks of hair from his face.  
  
"Yeah. I guess we'll meet up with Kai there." Ray stretched a little bit as he yawned, and they all left the room. That's when Tyson noticed they were gone, and scrambled up off the couch, and out of the room.  
  
"Wait up!" Tyson yelled as he ran to his friends and team mates, they all just laughed at him. He panted as he caught up with them, and they made their way down to the arena.  
  
"Okay, there's a list over there." Kenny pointed to a paper on the wall, no one crowded around it like all the others. They gathered around it, and read it for themselves.  
  
"So we're up against. The Majestics? Who are they?" Tyson looked around bewilderedly. "Which team are they? Where are they?" Everyone laughed as Tyson looked around with a paranoid look spreading across his face, and glared at people passing by him.  
  
"Hn. We'll find out during the match." Kai made everyone jump by talking to them. They all turned around to find him staring at them with his usual look. They all nodded. "We're up first." Kai stated the obvious, and they all sighed, and followed him to the entrance to the match.  
  
They walked into the arena, and everyone erupted in loud cheers. They sat down on the bench, except Kai, who stayed standing up. He was in the middle of an argument with himself about staying calm and courageous while this was where his dream had taken place. 'But not before the match or during it. After it!' Kai told himself, and stopped worrying.  
  
"Alright! Give it up for the Bladebreakers!" A voice boomed out from all of the speakers around the arena. The crowds got louder and louder to the point where it was really deafening. When they calmed down, the voice continued. "And the Majestics!" The crowd went even louder than deafening, if that was possible. Everyone from the team gasped as they saw Steth and his team walking out of the other entrance, grim looks on their faces. Kai didn't looked surprised at all, which surprised his team a lot.  
  
"The first to battle will be Max from the Bladebreakers, and Spike from the Majestics! Max's bitbeast Draciel is very powerful indeed, but Spike's bitbeast is very powerful, too! Spike's bitbeast is Tai!" The voice echoed throughout the crowds, and people continued to cheer. Kai's face blushed for a few seconds before he regained his composure. But Ray caught him, and Kai had nowhere to run to, he had to tell Ray why he blushed.  
  
"Well?" Ray folded his arms, and stood up tall. He was equal in height to Kai, and Kai sighed, as he stared at the ground.  
  
"Spike. His bitbeast? Well, his bitbeast's name is Tai, right? Well Spike always aid he had wanted to name it Kai. He said he liked my name." Kai sighed, and actually sat down on the bench. Ray smiled as Kai sighed in defeat, and he sat down beside him.  
  
"3 - 2 - 1 - LET IT RIP!!! " Kai and Ray both looked up as they watched Max and Spike go head to head against each other. Their beyblades collided, and the crowd's cheering was deafening again.  
  
"Go, Max! Go!" Tyson jumped up, and called out to his friend. "We know you can do it, buddy!"  
  
Max was staring at the arena determinedly. He called something out, but his team mates couldn't hear him, the crowd was definitely too loud. Spike did the same, he yelled something. That's when both of their beyblades collided with each other, and a blinding light consumed the whole arena. Everyone shielded their eyes from the light for a few minutes, then the light faded away, and remained in the middle of the arena. Max's team couldn't see anything but the light around him, the beyblades in front of him, and Spike staring at him, a surprised look on his face.  
  
"Where are we?" Max asked, not looking up from his beyblade.  
  
"I think it as something to do with our bitbeasts!" Spike's huge eyes narrowed. "But where is everyone? Where's the arena?" His voice echoed out into the light, but never passed through the barrier of light.  
  
Out of the light, Max's team mates were trying to figure out what was happening, too. They were looking around. The crowd had literally stopped cheering, there as no sound in the arena, and Kai watched as Tyson ran to the barrier of light. He ran right into something solid, and fell back. He got up again, and rubbed his head.  
  
Back in the light, Max and Spike were still fighting against each other. Maybe they were cut off from the world outside of them, but they still had a battle to finish.  
  
"Tai!" Spike called out, his eyes wide with anticipation, and he watched as his bitbeast emerged, a huge white dragon with bright green eyes. Max gasped, but called out his bitbeast, too.  
  
"Draciel!" Max yelled, and his bitbeast came out, read for the attack. Their bitbeasts rammed into each other over and over again, their bitbeasts finally became locked into a position of attack, and were entangled in each other. Finally, Max broke free, and attacked Spike head on. The light blinded them again, and they shut their eyes tight. When they opened them again, the light was dissolving into thin air, and the arena came back into view. The crowd was silent, and the light finally disappeared from the beybattling dish. Max and Spike both gasped. Max's beyblade was lying on its side, and Spike's was still spinning, but was a little bit wobbly. Finally, it stopped, and fell limp.  
  
"And the winner is. Spike!" The voice yelled out from the speakers, obviously shocked by the events. Spike's mouth fell open, and he walked over to Max. They both shook hands, and smiled at each other.  
  
"It was nice battling against you!" Spike called back to him, and Max simply waved. He went back to the team, and was surprisingly not angry or sad at losing. He had just had some fun, and he like it. He walked back to his team, who all gave him comforting words that he didn't need. But he was appreciative of it. Who will they be battling next?  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Sorry about making you wait for so long! I have been really sick and busy with school for the past while! So here's the chapter you've been waiting for! Hope you like it! But I'm thinking that maybe I shouldn't write much more, because not many people have been reviewing this story! If you review it, I'll continue it!  
  
^-^ *Hugs Everyone* 


	12. Chapter 12 Inner Demons

Chapter 12 – Inner Demons  
  
*****  
Warning: Some inappropriate language (very small amount) in this chapter.  
*****

********************************************************************

  For the next few weeks or more, the Bladebreakers won every single match against their opponents. A few of their beybattles were a bit difficult, but Kai managed to keep the team practising so much that they merely improved anyway. Finally, the tournament was almost over. Only one more match left before the finals. And Kai had yet to beybattle against the Majestics. He had a pretty good idea of who his opponent would be. Steth.  
  
  "Kai! Hurry up!" Ray knocked on the bathroom door for the third time that morning. 'It's not like Kai to be late… And I never thought I'd be the one yelling at him for being late. Usually it's Tyson…' Ray thought to himself as he pounded on the door. Finally the door opened, and Kai emerged. His face was even more pale than normal, and there were thin and barely visible lines under his eyes. He glared at Ray when he walked past him to the door.  "What's wrong?" Ray called out to him as he tried to catch up.  
  
  "Nothing." Kai breathed just loud enough for himself to hear.  He had stayed up all night, not wanting to fall asleep. He didn't feel like having another dream with Voltaire threatening him. Even though he was used to the threatening from him, in his dreams was different.

  Ray finally caught up with him, and they walked down to the main floor silently. The rest of the team looked a little shocked and surprised when Kai and Ray finally came down.  
  
  "Kai, you're never late. Is there something wrong?" Max turned to look at Kai straight in his face. As Kai opened his mouth to answer, Ray jumped out from behind him.  
  
  "I was late, not Kai. I stayed up too late last night. Sorry." Ray smiled and looked at Kai. Kai was surprised that Ray would cover for him like that. As the team walked to the arena, Ray whispered into his ear. "You'll owe me for that one." Ray found his way past Kai and up to his friends. Kai glared at his team again. As they entered the arena, it looked a little bit deserted. They were early, after all.  
  
  "It's better if we're early, because then we won't get head aches from all the cheering." Kenny sighed and opened his laptop.  
  
  "Yeah, that's for sure." Tyson mumbled as he stared over at the team across from them who were early, too. "They probably had the same idea." Finally the arena was nearly full, and the announcer had arrived.  
  
  "Alright, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the last match before the finals! And this must be exciting for all of you out there in the stands. The final match will take place between The Majestics and the Bladebreakers. Between the infamous Kai, and Steth."

  
  Kai shook his head in disbelief. Of course the last match was between them, it was obvious to everyone who had a mind of their own. He shrugged it off as he grabbed his beyblade from his jacket pocket, leaving behind his jacket. He walked over to the center of the stadium, where the Beyblading arena would soon be revealed.

  
  Steth walked forward with a grin on his pale face, his beyblade in his left hand, and his launcher in his right.  
  
  "I bid you good luck, Kai." Steth sighed as Kai's only response was "Hn."  
  
  "Because you'll need it." Steth pushed a few of his green bangs from his face, and smirked.  
  
  "You wish." Kai growled. "And don't think I'll take it easy on you just because you're one of my acquaintances." 

  "Acquaintance?" Steth snorted with laughter. "Is that how you categorize your friends?" Steth glanced over Kai's shoulder and to Kai's team. "Is that how you'd categorize them?" His eyes seemed to smile at Kai while his mouth remained a small smirk.  
  
  "How I categorize my friends is none of your business!" Kai snapped. He growled as he realised he had fallen into one of Steth's traps. Steth merely chuckled.

  
  They both stopped when the familiar voice boomed out over the speakers, quieting down the crowd just a tad.  
  
  "Alright, it's time to Beyblade, ladies and gentlemen! 3  -  2  -  1" His voiced paused for a split second before continuing. "LET IT RIP!!!"  
  
  At that exact moment, Kai and Steth both released their beyblades into the arena that had been revealed moments before.  
  
  Their beyblades chased each other around for what seemed like hours, but turned out to be only a dozen minutes.  
  
  "Wow, this is turning out to be the longest match so far!" The announcer's voice was so sudden that several people were startled, and jumped slightly in their seats, clearly not expecting it.

  Kai glanced up for a split second, his beyblade narrowly dodging another attack from Steth's beyblade. Kai growled, and decided that it was time to heat things up a little bit.  
  
  "Dranzer!!" Kai yelled out, feeling the little bit of anger that he had drain from his body. He closed his eyes, knowing that the harder he concentrated on his bitbeast, the higher his chances of succeeding would be.  
  


  '_Kai… Kai… Come here, Kai!_' He opened his eyes, not seeing anybody looking in his direction. He _had_ heard the voice, he was sure of that. Kai closed his eyes again, willing it to have only been his imagination. He did stay up all night, it was probably just fatigue.  
  
  '_Be a good boy, Kai, and stop jumping to conclusions. Especially when you know they're wrong._' Kai growled.  
  
  "_Who are you!?_" He yelled out into the shadows of is mind.

  '_You haven't caught on yet? What a pity, Kai… And I thought _you_ were the champion here…_' The darkness of the voice lashed out at his mind.  
  
  Kai growled out loud in confusion, earning him a stare from his opponent. Kai opened his eyes yet again, and watched as Dranzer managed to get an attack through to Steth's beyblade, knocking it off course. Bit it kept on spinning. The attack got a cheer from a small portion of the crowd.  
  
  '_Now that's the grandson I remember._' The same voice spoke again, from somewhere at the back of his mind. Kai froze, his anger being replaced by even more anger. And some fear, too. Steth's beyblade knocked Kai's beyblade from the ring, sending it into the air. Desperate, Kai yelled out again.  
  
  "Dranzer!!!" His voice rang out into the stadium. A huge red light emerged from Kai's beyblade. It was his bitbeast, Dranzer. The beyblade started its decent at an incredible speed, finally landing in the arena, still spinning.

  '_I hate you._' Kai growled into the depths of his mind.  
  
  '_You do now. But wait until you out what we're doing with Ultimate Black Dranzer. The one you threw at me?_' Kai felt the anger swelling up inside of him, to the point where he nearly couldn't control himself any longer.  
  
  "_You_. _Bastard_." Kai breathed out, and concentrated all of his anger and energy into his beyblade.

  
  Steth eyed him suspiciously, giving time for Kai to attacked Steth's beyblade once more, with a little bit of help from Dranzer.  
  


  A huge beam of light erupted from both beyblades, blinding everyone in front of their very eyes, the light dissolved slowly from in front of their very eyes. The announcer picked up his microphone.  
  
  "And the winner is…" The announcer cleared his throat before he continued.

  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Okay, I've added this chapter after yet again a long time. I'm **_so_** sorry, it's just that I've been getting a lot of homework lately, and with Christmas break being so busy, and now exams are starting… Lucky me… -_-' Thanks for the reviews, and because you guys reviewed, here's another chapter! SORRY IT'S SO LATE!!! But I hope you liked it! ^-^  
  
Oh man… So tired…. Must get through rest           of                     day… *yawns*  
  
I've already started writing another chapter for this story! And I think a few more chapters and it'll be finished ^^  
  
Please R&R! ^_^


End file.
